The Edo Period in Japan lasted from 1600 to 1868, beginning with Tokugawa Ieyasu's founding of the shogunate at Edo, now Tokyo. Tokugawa Ieyasu was named Shogun by the emperor. A shogun is a supreme military leader, and a shogunate is the period during which respective shoguns reigned, and the place where they established their reign. Edo shogunate was Japan's last. It was preceded by Kamakura shogunate and Muromachi shogunate. Tokugawa Ieyasu revolutionized the way Japan was governed by eliminating the feudal system, establishing a military government in Edo, and encouraging trade with the Dutch and English in the early part of the century. However, in 1635 Shogun Iemitsu, Tokugawa Ieyasu's successor, forbade traveling abroad and limited trade to the port of Nagasaki, so Japan traded only with the Chinese and Dutch. Shogun Iemitsu was fearful that foreign influence would destabilize Japanese society. Despite the isolation, however...