Following the first mission of Francis Xavier in 1549, the arrival of Portuguese, Dutch and English missionaries in Japan led to increasing social tensions as Christian converts embraced new ideas of the individual and of salvation and called into question the religious and political beliefs of the Japanese ruling class. Christianity was formally prohibited by decrees in 1612-14, after which repression of Christians became severe. In order to stamp out Christian and more general Western influence, a policy evolved known as
sakoku(“closed country”): in 1635 all Japanese traders were forbidden to go abroad and, following a Christian-led uprising of peasants in 1637, Buddhism was adopted as a state religion and all Japanese required to register with a Buddhist temple. From 1639 all…
164 words
Citation: Editors, Litencyc. "Japan restricts commerce with foreigners". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 13 September 2005 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=1586, accessed 23 November 2024.]
