How did Japans isolation affect its feudal system?
Initially, it was a success. Japan was interested in the West’s knowledge of science, but they were smart enough to draw a line where they were in control. However, their isolation policy was introduced to keep the gap wide between samurai warriors and regular soldiers. (Introduction of gundpowder weapons, for instance, allowed regular soldiers a high chance to kill skilled samurai warriors without need for great military experience or skill) As well, Japanese merchants were afraid of having more competition against Western traders, since merchants feared losing their political and financial power. Thankfully, Japan was able to realize how behind they are compared to modernized Western power. By taking advantage of it, they were able to secure their interest against foreign powers (ex. Russo-Japanese War, where Japanese fleets massacred Russian fleets in Port Arthur) and rose upto such power where they declared war against United States of America and her allies in the middle of WWII.
