Editing Tokugawa shogunate (section)

===Shogun and foreign trade===
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[[File:Grote partij bij het opperhoofd van Dejima.jpg|thumb|Dutch trading post in [[Dejima]], {{circa|1805}}]]
Foreign affairs and trade were monopolized by the shogunate, yielding a huge profit. Foreign trade was also permitted for the [[Satsuma Domain|Satsuma]] and the [[Tsushima Fuchū Domain|Tsushima domain]]s. [[Rice]] was the main trading product of Japan during this time. [[Isolationism]] was the foreign policy of Japan and trade was strictly controlled. Merchants were outsiders to the [[social hierarchy]] of Japan and were thought to be greedy.

The visits of the [[Nanban trade|Nanban]] ships from Portugal were at first the main vector of trade exchanges, followed by the addition of Dutch, English, and sometimes Spanish ships.

From 1603 onward, Japan started to participate actively in foreign trade. In 1615, an embassy and trade mission under [[Hasekura Tsunenaga]] was sent across the Pacific to [[Nueva España]] (New Spain) on the Japanese-built galleon [[Japanese warship San Juan Bautista|''San Juan Bautista'']]. Until 1635, the Shogun issued numerous permits for the so-called "[[red seal ships]]" destined for the Asian trade.

After 1635 and the introduction of [[Sakoku|seclusion laws]] (''sakoku''), inbound ships were only allowed from [[Qing dynasty|China]], [[Joseon|Korea]], and the [[Netherlands]].