ign power intervened, there was reason to fear rebellions of
Christians against the newly established central power. Economic
exploitation, in the modern sense of the word, did not yet exist apart
from political domination, and the Japanese would have welcomed trade if
there had been no danger of conquest. They seem to have overrated the
power of Spain, which certainly could not have conquered them. Japanese
armies were, in those days, far larger than the armies of Europe; the
Japanese had learnt the use of fire-arms; and their knowledge of
strategy was very great. Kyoto, the capital, was one of the largest
cities in the world, having about a million inhabitants. The population
of Japan was probably greater than that of any European State. It would
therefore have been possible, without much trouble, to resist any
expedition that Europe could have sent against Japan. It would even have
been easy to conquer Manila, as Hideyoshi at one time thought of doing.
But we can well understand how terrifying would be a map of the world
showing the whole of North and South America as belonging to Philip II.
Moreover the Japanese Government sent pretended converts to Europe,
where they became priests, had audience of the Pope, penetrated into the
inmost councils of Spain, and mastered all the meditated villainies of
European Imperialism. These spies, when they came home and laid their
reports before the Government, naturally increased its fears. The
Japanese, therefore, decided to have no further intercourse with the
white men. And whatever may be said against this policy, I cannot feel
convinced that it was unwise.

For over two hundred years, until the coming of Commodore Perry's
squadron from the United States in 1853, Japan enjoyed complete peace
and almost complete stagnation--the only period of either in Japanese
history, It then became necessary to learn fresh lessons in the use of
fire-arms from Western nations, and to abandon the exclusive policy
until they were learnt. When they have been learnt, perhaps we shall see
another period of isolation.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 40: The best book known to me on early Japan is Murdoch's
_History of Japan_, The volume dealing with the earlier period is
published by Kegan Paul, 1910. The chronologically later volume was
published earlier; its title is: _A History of Japan during the Century
of Early Foreign Intercourse_ (1542--1651), by James Murdoch M.A. in
collaboration with Isoh Ya