Eradication of Foreign Trade

At first, I had only decided to remove the Catholic missionaries from our country. However, I realized that it would also be prudent to expel most foreign influence in order to keep Japan true to its original culture and religion. After all, all of the European merchants who come to trade with us are also followers of this heathen religion. If they were to remain, then there would be no guarantee that our people would remain Shinto in religion. It would be horrible if the foreigners' religion, Christianity, were to continue tainting the minds of the Japanese people.



Already there have been too many victims to the foreigners' brain washing. The peasants are especially susceptible to the idea of this God who knows everything and can give one a pleasurable after life. Though I understand how they might need to hold on to the ridiculous idea of a life better than the one they have now, that is not good enough a reason for them to turn their backs on the gods that have kept them safe for so long.


_{(the so-called "Path to Heaven")}

It is because of the possibility that these remaining European merchants would continue to poison the mindset of the Japanese people that I have decreed for the abolition of most trade and contact with the foreigners. All of our trading posts shall be closed except for two major trading posts at the island of Hirado and at Nagasaki.



In addition to the mass closing of most of our ports, I have also decided to allow one group of foreigners to stay. These people call themselves the Dutch. Unlike the Spanish and the Portuguese, who are so religiously infatuated that they had not had the good sense to keep their trade interests and their "mission to spread their teachings" separate, the Dutch have abstained from doing exactly that. Therefore, I believe that they do not deserve the treatment given to other foreigners.



That being said, they will only be allowed to keep up their trade with us under extremely strict regulations. The Dutch will come no more frequently than once a year, and when they do come, their ships will stay for no longer than a duration of two to three months. By using these laws, I hope to limit our foreign contact enough that this fad for Christianity will die down.