JAPAN: COMPETING POWERS SEEK FOREIGN ALLIES

Toyotomi Hideyoshi (ca. 1536-1598): the feudal lord who eventually reunified Japan after centuries of civil war.

Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543-1616): founder of the Tokugawa Shogunate (1603-1867), which was last political period before the Meiji Reforms.

Shimabara Revolt (1637-38): Christian-influenced tax revolt.

Deshima Island: the only remaining site for European contact following the general expulsion of Westerners from Japan in the 1630’s. Deshima is located in Nagasaki Harbor.

INTELLECTUAL CHANGE

St. Francis Xavier (1506-52): early Western visitor to Japan.

By 1650 Christianity was banned, and the ban remained in effect until 1873.

Even after ban on Christian teaching, limited importation of Western books continued. Western thought largely ignored until mid-19^th century.

SOCIAL CHANGE

Certain daimyo allied with Westerners and even converted to Christianity to enhance local status.