| joseph, The time I was referring to, was back in the 1600s, and 1700s. Before that time, they never left their islands, nor did they intentionally allow ships of other flags enter their ports. The Dutch came first, and I think the Portugese were involved, at least in Southern China in Macao, and then the Americans went to Japan with treaties to be signed, more or less, under the gun. From what I have read, it was all done in a peaceful, and amicable, way, but there were a number of US warships in the harbor to back them up. As the Japanese were drawn away from their isolationists policies of the past, they became more aware of industrialization, and imperialism, which suited their war like ways under the code of Bushido, just fine. |
