Though it was isolationist to a degree, it was not, however, ignorant to the advances and events occurring in the rest of the world. Many foreign delegates, trying to get access to trading ports in Japan, had to go through a "clearance," before they could meet the emperor. These different delegates, tried very hard to maintain as much control as possible in their own eyes as stated by Milton Meyer.
All previous Shoguns had accepted the concept of divinity of the emperor as the sole source of political authority, and the Tokugawa continued this tradition. In theory, shogunal powers derived from the emperor, and Edo rulers effected measures through the Kyoto imperial channels. But they stationed representatives at the capital to keep a watchful eye on royal affairs. All visitors, prior to making appointments at the court or with the emperor, had to clear with these deputies (Nardo 92).
This shows the security with which Japan dealt with foreign affairs. Ieyasu, fearing the corruption by a foreign influence, decided that "direct government control of foreign trade and strict regulation of religion, were essential to maintaining the power of the bakufu (military government) over a united Japan" (Nardo 93). To begin with, Ieyasu limited foreign trade. He allowed only particular ports to trade particular goods, however as time passed, Ieyasu, feeling threatened, only allowed Nagasaki and one other Japanese island to trade outside Japan. In 1612, he outlawed the Christian faith as an attempt to secure Japanese culture due to the massive conversions of the Japanese to Christianity in Southern Japan. Temples were destroyed and Churches and schools for Christianity were built in their places. Within the next few decades, Ieyasu's successors exiled the Spanish and Portuguese, leaving only a few elite Dutch to trade with the Japanese. They always put trade before their missionary work, and trading with the Dutch allowed the Japanese to get some sort of status or information on the rest of the world.
