Final answer:
The Japanese attempted to control European merchant influence through a policy of isolationism.The Tokugawa shogunate enacted isolationism in 1639, restricting European trade to Nagasaki with the Dutch and Chinese on Dejima Island, controlling and minimizing foreign influence in Japan for centuries.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Japanese attempted to control European merchant influence after the 1500s through a policy of isolationism. In 1639, the Tokugawa shogunate banned trade with European countries except at the port of Nagasaki with the Chinese and Dutch, who were confined to a walled compound on Dejima Island. This policy restricted foreign contact and limited trade to a select few, effectively controlling European merchant influence.
In the 1639 Sakoku Edict, the Tokugawa shogunate implemented a policy of isolationism in Japan, aiming to curb European merchant influence. This decree prohibited trade with European nations, confining such interactions solely to the port of Nagasaki. Only the Dutch and Chinese were permitted trade, restricted to the enclosed Dejima Island. This deliberate isolation not only limited foreign contact but also controlled and regulated trade to a select few, consolidating the shogunate's authority and minimizing external influence. The Tokugawa isolationist policy, lasting for over two centuries, sought to safeguard Japan from potential political and cultural upheavals associated with increased foreign involvement.