Japan's initial contact with the West in 1543
In the year 1543, a Portuguese trading ship arrived in the Japanese island of Tanegashima. Its passengers were the first Europeans to set foot in Japan. From a European perspective, they “discovered” Japan; but from an Asian perspective, they were not the first people to “discover” these islands; since these islands had been inhabited for centuries by that time. An ancient civilization resided here, with its own language, culture, and religions. At least one of its major religions (namely, Buddhism) had been imported from outside, but its Shinto religion was native to Japan itself. To those who lived in Japan, their empire was no “secret.” But to the people back in Europe, this island was indeed a “secret empire.” The European empires were equally “secret” to the Japanese, of course; and to the Japanese, these Christian Europeans were something of a novelty; and so were the strange goods that they carried.
Japanese painting depicting a group of Portuguese foreigners
Early trade with Europeans, including in weapons
The Portuguese carried valuable cargo that they wanted to trade for the Japanese goods. Both sides were eager to engage in this trade, as it turns out, and so Japan's first contact with Europeans established a long relationship with the West. This relationship would not always be as friendly as it was here, but the strange European imports have long fascinated the Japanese. The most important of these imports at this time was the musket. The Japanese realized very early on that these European weapons were very powerful. The Europeans were willing to sell them these weapons for a price, and certain tribes in Japan took them up on this offer. The ones that “got in” on this trade the earliest were able to dominate the other tribes via these weapons, and so these weapons had a massive effect on Japanese internal politics. This documentary starts at the moment of initial contact in the sixteenth century, and continues on through the end of Japanese isolationism in the nineteenth century. Internal Japanese politics are also covered, of course, but there is also a strong emphasis on Japan's complicated relationship with the West.
Various antique Tanegashima muskets
Comments on their coverage of the political history
When covering the political history, the main focus here is on the Tokugawa dynasty, starting with Tokugawa Ieyasu's rise to power. They also cover the cultural aspects of the Japanese military, such as the role of the samurai. The samurai are a bit like European knights in some ways, because they both consisted of warriors from the upper classes of their respective societies. But there are aspects of the samurai without any European equivalents, such as the ritual suicide known as “seppuku.” One who committed suicide in a certain way – namely, cutting out their own stomachs with a samurai sword – was believed to be destined for eternal rewards on this account. When a Japanese warlord didn't like someone, they could sometimes order them to commit “seppuku.” Sometimes, they removed dynastic challengers by ordering them to engage in this practice, including some members of their own families. The Japanese are not the only ones to bump off royal family members in their quest for power, of course, since equivalent actions can also be found in the royal families of Europe. But the use of forced suicide was somewhat strange to the Europeans visiting Japan at this time, and many European visitors remarked upon it in the written records of their visits.
Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first of the Tokugawa rulers
Comments on the supposed “Western-centrism” of this documentary
And a word about those “European visitors” might be helpful here: The documentary makes extensive use of quotations from these Europeans, and shows Japanese culture from their eyes at times. Some have thus criticized this documentary as “Western-centric” for this reason, and also because of its occasional focus on Japan's complicated relationship with the West. But the people making these criticisms would seem to ignore some very important things; such as how this documentary is in English, and is thus targeted towards an English-speaking audience. The filmmakers could thus not assume that the people in the audience would have prior knowledge of Japanese culture. As much as we might want to, we can't all be experts on outside cultures; because there are too many cultures in the world for us to be aware of them all equally. It is true that Japanese culture is more prominent than most, of course, but that does not mean that we all have to be “experts” on Japanese culture. Those who study Japanese culture in great detail will be able to reap economic rewards for their endeavors. For the rest of us, we will all have to start somewhere; and this documentary would seem like an excellent place for most people to start. It certainly educates you about this period, and about Japanese culture in the process; and so is worth watching on this account (as well as other accounts).
General Akashi Gidayu preparing to commit seppuku, after losing a battle for his master in 1582
Isolationism in Japan, and persecution of the Christian minorities there
For the first few decades of the Tokugawa rule, the Japanese actually welcomed foreign visitors to the islands. But in 1633, the Tokugawa policy became somewhat more isolationist. They resented the influence of European ideas, and of the Christian religion in particular. Thus, they closed off Japan to (most of) the outside influence at this time. Some Europeans were still allowed to trade with them, as it turns out; but this trade was very restricted, and was only allowed at certain times and places. Even in these places, it was still under very strict government control. The influence of Christianity was a particular thorn in the Japanese side at this time, and the Tokugawa persecuted the Catholic minorities among their people, whose ancestors had been converted by Catholic missionaries to their islands. Eventually, they decided to wipe out these Japanese Catholics at home, who refused to renounce Christianity even to save their lives. This is one of the sadder episodes in Japanese history. (On a positive note, the Tokugawa actually succeeded in unifying the Japanese home islands, and ruling from their capital city of Edo. This is the city that would later become known as Tokyo.)
The house of the merchant, Fukugawa Edo museum
Economics, centralization, and prostitution during the isolationist period
During the isolationist period, there were some improvements in Japan's internal economic freedoms. For example, the Japanese could trade amongst themselves to a degree that they never could before, and reaped great economic benefits as a result. Sometimes merchants would earn more than their samurai equivalents, and the samurai often resented the wealth of these “upstart” merchants. Many samurai thus became government bureaucrats at this time, which was a change from the warrior orientation of previous times. They still cherished their warrior past, of course, but their everyday tasks were now more bureaucratic (and somewhat mundane to boot). They were often required to pay homage to the Emperor as well, and travel to the capital city of Edo to give this homage. The Japanese attitudes towards intimacy were somewhat loose then, particularly in the capital city of Edo itself. Prostitution was common in the city – including the geishas, who accompanied their activities with poetry. The documentary's emphasis is on their poetic accomplishments, but they were still prostitutes, albeit with the legal sanction of society.
Ukiyoe depicting a Gion geisha, from between 1800 and 1833
How the American “Black Ships” forced Japan to open to the West in 1853
Japanese isolationism would not be broken until 1853, when American ships under Commodore Matthew Perry arrived in the bay at Edo. These “Black Ships” threatened to attack, unless Japan agreed to trade with the West (and with the United States in particular). They demonstrated the power of their weapons, and gave the Japanese one year to decide whether or not they would agree to these terms. The “Black Ships” left, and did not return for another year. During that year, there was considerable debate within the Japanese government about what to do with these invaders; and the Emperor himself experienced much internal conflict on this matter. In the end, he chose to accept the American terms of trade; and so Japan's isolationism was broken. This is where the documentary ends its story, and it is a fitting tribute to the influence of trade upon world empires like Japan.
Japanese print from 1854 describing Commodore Matthew Perry's “Black Ships”
Was this a “secret empire”? (For the Europeans, it probably was … )
During the isolationism period, the outside world probably knew a little bit about Japan; but they knew next to nothing about what was going on internally there. Thus, Japan really was a “secret empire” to them during this period, and so the documentary's title is therefore accurate. This label would obviously not be appropriate today, but its appropriateness at this time is well-established, at least from a European perspective. This emphasis upon Japan's relationship with the West has some definite advantages, as it turns out, and helps to show the influence of Western science and technology upon Japan. Western medicine was particularly important to the Japanese at this time, and many medical works were translated from various European languages into Japanese. But it was the European weapons that would have the greatest influence there, by putting Japan on the track to becoming a major world power.
Conclusion: This is one of the better documentaries that I've seen
This documentary doesn't cover World War II, as it turns out, because of its ending with the “Black Ships” in 1853. Nonetheless, insights into the Japanese mindset during World War II will actually appear anyway; and help you to understand the samurai code that affected their attitudes regarding surrender and suicide. It will also help you to understand Japan in the twenty-first century, with its deep-seated attitudes towards modernity and “Westernization.” It is also a good documentary (and well worth watching) on this account, but it also succeeds in being entertaining; and is one of the better documentaries that I've ever seen.
DVD at Amazon
If you liked this post, you might also like:
A review of “Tora! Tora! Tora!” (1970)
The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
A review of “A History of Japan” (Australian book)
A review of Michael Wood's “The Story of China”
A review of Michael Wood's “The Story of India”
Part of the documentary series
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Egypt's Golden Empire
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Japan: Memoirs of a Secret Empire
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