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European Community-Japan Relations

In: European Power and The Japanese Challenge

Author

Listed:
  • William R. Nester

    (St. John’s University of New York)

Abstract

Until the mid-nineteenth century, contact between Europe and Japan was sporadic and mutual perceptions were shaped largely by myths. Marco Polo was the first European to hear about the distant archipelago of Japan (Cipangu), and the publication of his Travels popularized the image of a mythical, gold-rich island kingdom in the northwest Pacific. In 1492, Columbus set sail for the Orient, hoping to make contact with China and also to find the rich island of Cipangu. Although Columbus fell about half a world short of his goal, Jesuit missionaries managed to reach Japan in 1542, unleashing a century of feverish Japanese borrowing of Western military technology, fashions, and ideas. As in Europe’s kingdoms, cannon and muskets enabled ambitious lords to smash down thin castle walls and transform Japan from decentralized to centralized feudalism.1

Suggested Citation

  • William R. Nester, 1993. "European Community-Japan Relations," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: European Power and The Japanese Challenge, chapter 6, pages 191-254, Palgrave Macmillan.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:palchp:978-1-349-12995-9_6
    DOI: 10.1007/978-1-349-12995-9_6
    as

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