Japanese Politics vs Christianity - Essay Example

The intense moment of the Christianity suppression process came in the year 1635 as a result of the 1635 edicts which forbid the Japanese from any affiliation with foreigners, especially foreign missionaries. The Japanese people were forced to denounce Christianity through either reward or punishment. The rewards included a high political role in society while the punishment was death and intense torture (Laver, 2011). The 1635 edict demanded that all incoming ships be investigated for Christian priests before entering Japan. A reward was offered if any high-ranking priest was located and presented to the authorities. Foreign ships which brought goods to Japan were investigated for any Christian influence. The Japanese citizens were forbidden from leaving or entering the country after staying overseas for a long time. The Japanese authorities were thorough in their investigation of traces of Christianity. All these steps were focused on the complete suppression of Christianity.

Trade was immensely affected by the 1635 edicts. The Japanese natives refrained from buying directly goods from foreign ships. Goods that originated from foreign ships were bought directly from Nagasaki where Chinese merchants operated their businesses. All the Japanese currencies brought by foreign ships were distributed to local traders in cities. Direct trade between the Japanese traders and foreigners ended in 1636 when the departure date for foreign ships was set on the 20th day of the 29th month. This day was set by the Japanese trade authority and included in the 1635 edict (Laver, 2011).

The Japanese shoguns were affected by the 1635 edict as they were forbidden from leaving the country and interacting with the communities that were overseas. The Japanese shoguns that had traveled overseas were forbidden from entering the country as they were thought to have acquired foreign influence which was loyal to Christianity and practiced the missionaries’ approaches that were indeed a threat to the Buddhist Japanese rule.

According to the 1635 edict, trade and Christianity were the major threats to Japan. Christianity was used to cause a diversion in belief and practices thus weakening the Japanese rule. The Christian missionaries opted to use the approach of divide and rule to capture the politics and economy of Japan which would enable them to have ease in the spreading of Christianity in the county (Laver, 2011). Similarly, trade acted as the economic pillar which was one of the key points of control in Japan. The Japanese government of 1635 which was under the rule of Tokugawa Lemitsu felt that an influence on the country’s economic activities might pose a great threat to his rule. In this case, he implemented a full Japanese isolation policy.

The fifth edict of 1639 which was also the final one was made as an impact of the Shimabara Rebellion. It was a war between the Japanese rulers and the Christianized Japanese peasants. The edict banned the Portuguese and Spanish ships from using Japanese waters completely (Laver, 2011). This is because the Japanese rulers thought that the rebellion was highly influenced by the Spanish and Portuguese trade affiliations with the Christianized Japanese thus the promulgation was a precaution for more future rebellions.

The war between foreign Christianity introduction by foreign missionaries and native Buddhist rulers led to a decline in the economic level of Japan. This was a result of the 1635 and 1639 verdicts which isolated Japan preventing her from foreign affiliations. This aspect prevented Japan from enjoying economic upraise due to political differences.