... Europe had moved on from Feudalism to Mercantilism, the system of Feudalism remained in Japan, as said by Patrick Smith. The Tokugawa ruled for two and a half centuries, until 1868. Theirs was the most extreme form of feudalism Japan had ever known. The Japanese lived like figurines in a bell jar locked in hereditary status and the ancient, cyclical time of masters and cultivators. ... Progress was prohibited the enemy of changelessness. The Tokugawa were the greatest Orientalists Japan has yet produced. Their notion of Japan was grotesque, ... utterly static. It became more imaginary a...

• Word Count: 5448
• Approx Pages: 22
• Grade Level: Undergraduate