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Introduction
One of the most difficult and controversial periods to deal with as a historian of premodern Japan is the sakoku, or “closed country,” period. Spanning well over two hundred years, from the mid 1630s to 1854, this period for historians represents a profound shift in the role of Japan in the wider world. This era was characterized by major changes in Japanese society itself, most notably in the increasing urbanization of the samurai class (formerly tied to the land that they held in fief), and in the dramatic increase of precious metals within the country that was a direct result of a concerted exploitation of the silver, gold, and copper mines that Japan possessed in such abundance. These changes in Japan’s social, economic, and political structure, combined with a policy that severely limited direct contact between the Japanese and foreigners, make this period especially difficult to evaluate accurately. We are particularly prone to misconception because of the latter consideration: direct contact between Japanese merchants and their foreign counterparts was effectively severed in the 1630s, giving rise to the notion that Japan must have somehow withdrawn from the international economy.