Why wasn't Japan colonized?

Why wasn't Japan colonized?

Japan wasn’t actually completely free of European interference. The Portuguese were the first Europeans to land in Japan when a group of Portuguese traders anchored their ship on the shores of Nipponese in 1543. A new relationship between Japan and Portugal suddenly began to grow, mostly centered on economics, but religion quickly became a talking point as well.

Commerce was a huge factor in the Portuguese influence over Japan. Most of their trading goods were coming from China, which had long been off-limits to Japan after a ban of contact was put in place by the Chinese emperor. This meant that the Portuguese had something that the Japanese really wanted but would be unable to get on their own. It was a perfect system and worked well for a few decades. The Japanese could purchase goods like silk and porcelain from China, without having to go directly through Chinese merchants, and the Portuguese were able to expand their influence into Asia even further. Firearms were another popular purchase of the Japanese, especially during the Sengoku Period of civil war.

♦Consider supporting the Channel of Patreon and gain cool stuff:



♦Music by Epidemic Sound

♦Sources :

James, David H. The Rise and Fall of the Japanese Empire.

Duus, Peter. The Abacus and the Sword: The Japanese Penetration of Korea.

Japan's Medieval Population: Famine, Fertility, and Warfare in a Transformative Age (Choice Outstanding Academic Books)
by University of Hawaii Press

♦Script & Research :
Skylar Gordon


#History #Documentary #Japan

[iwasjustfollowingorders]

And then a bunch of japanese moved to Brazil, learned Portuguese, adopted the culture...and that's my story

[mountainadventures]

Japan is the eastern version of Germany. They are perfectionists. They are engineers. They are inventors. They were behind European powers during the colonial age but they quickly adopted European military tactics and caught up. They went from Samurai on horseback to bombing Pearl Harbor within the span of a couple of centuries. Incredible!

[ChannelBerpindah]

Japan wasnt colonized because they rapidly and effectively modernized their nation and managed to be on par with the western powers. If you were talking about japan wasnt colonized because they themselves was a colonizer that statement was totally wrong and vague statement. Almost all non western countries which was doomed to colonization was also a colonizer themselves, Qing China, Burmese Empire, Sikh Empire, these were all colonizers themselves, but yet that didnt saved them from being colonized. Like i said, What saved Japan from western imperialism was the fact that they managed to modernized and proved as a civilized great power themselves and that made the western powers respected them.

[windykingdom]

Japan: *I’m a little bit of a colonizer myself*

[ender]

Fun fact: The Portuguese were the first westerners to have influence in Japan in the world and Brazil has the biggest Japanese population outside Japan in the world.

[monstermachine]

Banning Christianity was largely why Japan wasn't colonized imo.

[joedellinger]

The Portuguese also gave the Japanese fried food! Tempura was born!

[gorotv]

This video overlooks the fact and cause that only Japan was able to modernize 100 years earlier than any other Asian country. The reason why Japan was able to develop into a strong country is because of the development of Japanese society, decentralization and the existence of the emperor in the Edo period.
Edo, now Tokyo, was one of the largest cities in the world, the Japanese had the highest literacy rate in the world at the time, and the masses were responsible for commerce, industry, and high culture.
At that time, under the loose control of the Tokugawa shogunate, local feudal lords competed in handicrafts and economics, and there were many excellent samurai throughout Japan. As a result, samurai warriors throughout Japan were able to use the Emperor as a centripetal force to defeat the Tokugawa Shogunate and immediately form a new government to carry out radical modernization reforms.
In other words, the reason why Japan succeeded in modernization quickly was because it had a ruler called Emperor who could replace the old system, reformers called local samurai, and ordinary people who were excellent workers.

[drpepper]

Funfact: during japans Isolation of 200 years the Dutch republic was the only European nation that was allowed to trade with them, for the simple reason we didn't care about ideology and spreading our faith.

[ericyujidurandal]

Japan and Portugal＝Countries where seafood is delicious.🐟🐙🦐

[betterworldtobe]

Japan had most guns in the world in those era.
If European countries came to fight, it should have been very difficult.
Also from Japanese point of view, to spread christianity before invasion was common strategy like they did in south America . Actually Christian house was used as base for slave trading from Japan. I am pretty proud that Japan refused to let christianity come in.And also love some food which came in from Portugal in those era.

[rayleigh_ha]

After Portugal left Japan, Japan deepened its trade with the Netherlands. Because Dutch did NOT bring Christianity to Japan. After the end of the Sengoku (Warring States) period and the start of the Edo period (1603-1867), this relationship continued in detail. A few decades after the beginning of the Meiji Era, the "Treaty of Commerce and Navigation between Japan and the Netherlands" was concluded(1896), but this treaty was unequal. However, at the end of the Meiji Era (1912), this treaty was revised and Japan received MFN treatment from the Netherlands.

As a side note, in 2016, based on this century-old treaty, Japanese can work in the Netherlands without a work permit.
When I heard this news, I was very surprised to see a treaty that I had learned about in history class.😂

[honhon]

In 16th century, Portuguese they sold some musket guns to Japanese, shortly after that Japanese started to copy and mass production, then Japan became heaviest fire armed region in the world.

[wernercaspary]

Did you know Germany 🇩🇪 has a twin ?
Its called Japan 🇯🇵.
Very similar in order, discipline, clean, mentality, industry, highways, trains, schedules (don't be late), perfectionists to the max, a bit egocentric, good beer 🍺 but our food is different we like sausages and they love seafood.
I almost forgot we have 4 World Cups 🏆🏆🏆🏆 and Japan none but they will get there.
Cheers 🥂 to Japan 🇯🇵 our twin in the East.
Greetings from Germany...🍺🖐

[imperial-llzl]

Personally, I'm amazed that Japan has had an Emperor from ancient times to the present😮

[kutannopapa]

As someone already pointed out, the story overlooks the importance of mining exports from Japan which dominated the world's silver and gold market in the era. The Mongolian invasion in the 13th century must be another interesting topic to be touched on. Well illustrated though.

[inazumagou]

Great analysis. Another reason is when the colonial forces have arrived Japan in the 1860s, Japan had studied how China had fallen to colonial forces and vowed not repeat China's mistake. The problem is, Japan had studied the tactics of colonial forces so well that they became one...

[mbern]

Its important to remember that at the time of Portugal discovering Japan, the Japanese population was equal to all of Europe due to the plague having reduced European numbers. And the Portuguese introduced guns early which the Japanese quickly learned to make themselves. Combine that with their military structure and it would have been nearly impossible.

[takecham]

If Japan remained as it was, it would have been colonized in the not too distant future. They learned that the environment for maintaining peace in the Edo period had disappeared. There is no doubt that they were people with a base who could know, study, absorb and rapidly modernize the world situation so that it would not be colonized. After that, there is only one goal. "To become a country that is considered to be on par with Western countries and to eliminate the fear of being invaded by the West." They acted "for them" with all their might.

[uenonatsue]

Korea was not a colonization. It was an annexation.