began in 1867, and Satsuma, the chief clan in the island of Kyushu, has had great power in the Government ever since the Restoration, except during its rebellion of 1877.  It is hard to disentangle what belongs to Christianity and what to mere hostility to the Central Government in the movements of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.  However that may be, Iyeyasu decided to persecute the Christians vigorously, if possible without losing the foreign trade.  His successors were even more anti-Christian and less anxious for trade.  After an abortive revolt in 1637, Christianity was stamped out, and foreign trade was prohibited in the most vigorous terms:—­

So long as the sun warms the earth, let no Christian be so bold as to come to Japan, and let all know that if King Philip himself, or even the very God of the Christians, or the great Shaka contravene this prohibition, they shall pay for it with their heads.[45]

The persecution of Christians, though it was ruthless and exceedingly cruel, was due, not to religious intolerance, but solely to political motives.  There was reason to fear that the Christians might side with the King of Spain if he should attempt to conquer Japan; and even if no foreign 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.