Human world
Japan has traded overseas for hundreds of years. It has traded with China and Korea since the 5th century. Later Japan began limited trading with Burma, Thailand, the Philippines and the nearest Oceanic islands. Europeans arrived during the 1540s.
In 1638 Japan's military rulers closed the ports to foreign trade. They were afraid that Christian ideas would threaten their power. In 1854 the American government sent a fleet of warships to demand that the ports re-open.
What followed was an explosion of trade. Japan imported Western industrial technology and Western countries imported Japanese art.
Many of the objects you can see here are a result of the trade between Japan and the West in the late 19th century.
Follow the links in the navigation panel to explore more of these collections.