Japanese Sakoku System

Timeline

1. 1633–1639Edo · JapanTokugawa Iemitsu, the third shogun, issued five seclusion edicts beginning in 1633: Japanese were forbidden from going abroad or returning, the Spanish were expelled (1624) and the Portuguese (1639), and only Dutch and Qing merchants were allowed to trade under strict control at Dejima in Nagasaki, completing the legal framework of the sakoku system.
2. 1651–1660Dejima, Nagasaki · KyushuTokugawa Iemitsu died in 1651, and the young Ietsuna succeeded as fourth shogun, with the senior councillors jointly maintaining the seclusion order. By this time the sakoku system was fully institutionalized: the Nagasaki magistrates strictly managed trade at Dejima, and the Dutch East India Company submitted annual Dutch Reports (Oranda Fūsetsugaki) providing overseas intelligence, becoming the shogunate's only official channel for information about the outside world.
3. 1661–1852Japan · JapanFrom the 18th century through the first half of the 19th century, the sakoku system operated stably under successive shoguns, effectively blocking the penetration of Western colonial powers and allowing Japan to develop a prosperous domestic market and a distinctive Edo townspeople culture in isolation. During this period, Russian, British, and other ships repeatedly attempted to open the country but were refused; the shogunate issued the Edict to Expel Foreign Ships (1825), further reinforcing its resolve to maintain seclusion.
4. 1853–1854Uraga (present-day Yokosuka) · Kanagawa PrefectureIn 1853, U.S. Navy Commodore Matthew C. Perry sailed four steam warships into Uraga harbor, demanding by force that the shogunate open the country to trade. In 1854 the shogunate was compelled to sign the Treaty of Kanagawa, opening the ports of Shimoda and Hakodate; the sakoku system that had lasted over two centuries came to an end, and Japan entered the tumultuous final years of the shogunate.