Our Japan Theory...

Our theory from class was: Through putting down other countries, Japan gainer power.

Our theory from class was not very accurate. For many years, Japan was a very peaceful country, but they were self absorbed. They did not want to trade with the outside world. In fact, they only had one trading port with the West, where they traded only with the Dutch. It was not that Japan was putting down other countries, like we got from the documents, but rather, the Japanese did not want to be in much contact with the West. Japan did not gain power by putting down other countries, it simply did not want to be connected with the West. They did not want to disrupt the quiet peace throughout the country, so builded up their power from the inside. When many people of all statuses moved into cities, the government tried to limit them. The people just ignored what the government was trying to say. I was surprised by this, I thought that the people would have revolted. However, the government did not initiate violence, so neither did the people. To the government, status was a big deal. The people, however, did not seem to make that big a deal about whether they were merchants, peasants, or samurais. Samurais went into commerce to make money, and left their high standing social rank. When the Western traders came nocking on the door, they decided to not take violent action. The Japanese bothered to observe what happened to China when it's people resisted. They knew better than to fight back. American ships were granted permission to trade at Japanese ports, as well as their right to buy provisions and fuel. Other unfair privileges were granted to other Western countries as well. Japan's peaceful state was how they gained power, as well as by the encouraged education in the country.