I’ve always been a bit curious and confused about Japan’s isolation(s). Until a century ago, it was a reasonably successful policy to simply send an army and conquer. Japan had notoriously terrible iron and, aside from using mountains and rugged terrain, there would have been little that they could do to against a continuous force of fully armored European knights. How was it that they escaped colonization unlike India and China?
Well, Japan was isolated, but they weren’t as backwards as one might initially think. Japanese metalworking and material technology was cutting edge - in the late 1500s. That would have been the dying days of European knighthood, so they were still relatively open to the world up until then. Japan’s primary period of isolation was during the Tokugawa Shogunate, roughly 1600-1850. So it was only starting with that period of isolation that they really started to ‘fall behind’ Europe in terms of technology.
As for Europe not colonizing them directly, there are a number of factors. Most European endeavors outside of Africa were in ‘concessions’, wherein European powers would leverage their military power to get some special privilege over the locals, rather than ruling directly. A lot of Chinese interaction with Europe was under this paradigm. Likewise, when Japan first opened up to European trade (forced by American warships, I might add), many such concessions were granted to Europe as a “Jesus Christ please don’t shell our portside towns, this is imbalanced as fuck”.
The difference between Japan and China here is that the ruling elite of Japan more or less immediately went all-in on modernization due to an early power struggle forcing a sort of technological-cultural arms-race between the elites who supported the Emperor vs those who supported the Shogunate (the military rulers of Japan). This resulted in them getting the latest in industry and weaponry from Europe and learning how to produce these advantageous things in their own islands, which eventually shifted the balance of power to the point where Europe could no longer demand concessions.
China, on the other hand, had a bureaucratic and aristocratic ruling class that was uninterested in most European advances because most European advances challenged their traditional way of life (and thus the power of the ruling elite). It wouldn’t be until the ruling Qing dynasty of China was overthrown that China began to rapidly modernize in the same way Japan had done ~40 years before.
Thank you for the in-depth answer! I didn’t even have the basis of understanding to begin researching the topic, and now filling in the details seems to be only a few books away!
That’s PugJesus for you. Whoever they are, they know loads of cool and interesting shit, spanning history, politics, and philosophy (I think). I always engage with their posts/comments when I can because they never disappoint.
I’ve always been a bit curious and confused about Japan’s isolation(s). Until a century ago, it was a reasonably successful policy to simply send an army and conquer. Japan had notoriously terrible iron and, aside from using mountains and rugged terrain, there would have been little that they could do to against a continuous force of fully armored European knights. How was it that they escaped colonization unlike India and China?
Well, Japan was isolated, but they weren’t as backwards as one might initially think. Japanese metalworking and material technology was cutting edge - in the late 1500s. That would have been the dying days of European knighthood, so they were still relatively open to the world up until then. Japan’s primary period of isolation was during the Tokugawa Shogunate, roughly 1600-1850. So it was only starting with that period of isolation that they really started to ‘fall behind’ Europe in terms of technology.
As for Europe not colonizing them directly, there are a number of factors. Most European endeavors outside of Africa were in ‘concessions’, wherein European powers would leverage their military power to get some special privilege over the locals, rather than ruling directly. A lot of Chinese interaction with Europe was under this paradigm. Likewise, when Japan first opened up to European trade (forced by American warships, I might add), many such concessions were granted to Europe as a “Jesus Christ please don’t shell our portside towns, this is imbalanced as fuck”.
The difference between Japan and China here is that the ruling elite of Japan more or less immediately went all-in on modernization due to an early power struggle forcing a sort of technological-cultural arms-race between the elites who supported the Emperor vs those who supported the Shogunate (the military rulers of Japan). This resulted in them getting the latest in industry and weaponry from Europe and learning how to produce these advantageous things in their own islands, which eventually shifted the balance of power to the point where Europe could no longer demand concessions.
China, on the other hand, had a bureaucratic and aristocratic ruling class that was uninterested in most European advances because most European advances challenged their traditional way of life (and thus the power of the ruling elite). It wouldn’t be until the ruling Qing dynasty of China was overthrown that China began to rapidly modernize in the same way Japan had done ~40 years before.
Thank you for the in-depth answer! I didn’t even have the basis of understanding to begin researching the topic, and now filling in the details seems to be only a few books away!
Always happy to help! 🙏 Enjoy the journey!
That’s PugJesus for you. Whoever they are, they know loads of cool and interesting shit, spanning history, politics, and philosophy (I think). I always engage with their posts/comments when I can because they never disappoint.
Aw, you’ll make me blush!