Japan's Closed Country Edict (1635)
Explanation and Analysis of the Document
The Closed Country Edict of 1635 consists of seventeen articles and can be roughly divided into three sections. Understanding these divisions provides a key to understanding the concerns and intent of the Tokugawa leadership that produced the document. Three articles address the question of Japanese travel and trade abroad, both of which are prohibited, five articles deal with Christian missionaries and their teachings, and the remaining nine articles are directed at foreign trade and the protocols and requirements associated with it.
It is important to note that the title given the document, Closed Country Edict, was a later addition ascribed by historians as they attempted to classify it. To call this document the Closed Country Edict suggests an interpretation that the authors may not have expected or desired, and this is something that must be kept in mind. The edict, in fact, had no title beyond the simple “Items: for Nagasaki,”...
