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The Shogun Who Closed the Country — Tokugawa Iemitsu and the Completion of Sakoku

In 1639, Iemitsu banned Portuguese ships and completed 'sakoku' (national isolation), which lasted over 200 years. Permitting only limited trade with the Dutch and Chinese at Dejima in Nagasaki, the policy aimed to ban Christianity and monopolize trade for the shogunate.

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In 1639, Iemitsu banned Portuguese ships, completing the sakoku isolation policy after the Christian-led Shimabara Rebellion of 1637 hardened the shogunate’s fears. Trade continued only with the Dutch and Chinese at Nagasaki’s Dejima, plus limited contact via Tsushima, Satsuma, and Matsumae. Isolation brought over 200 years of peace and distinctive culture, but left Japan behind in Western science.

Portrait of Tokugawa Iemitsu — the third shogun who completed sakoku in 1639, laying the foundation for 200 years of peace

Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain

Edo Castle — center from which the Tokugawa governed Japan under sakoku; the only window abroad was Dejima in Nagasaki

Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain

Nikko Toshogu — symbol of the distinctively Japanese ornate culture that flourished when sakoku cut off Western influence

Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0

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Tokugawa Iemitsu