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Think about it, for tens of thousands of years, while all over Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle east were all able to reach out to each other and share their technology and cultures, Japan sat in the Pacific, cut off from other civilizations due to its Island status.

This allowed it's people develop a highly unique culture, without being built upon bits and pieces of other cultures philosophy and success's.

Japan had isolated itself , not only from the west, but from all other nations. It was during regime of the Emperor Maiji ( 1868~1912 ), that Japan opened up. This period is called as Enlightened Rule. Like many old civilizations such as Chinese, Indian etc. Japan had their own distinct culture. Their economy developed because they worked very hard, put the work ahead of family and were never individualist.
After world war II more and more Japanese came under the influence of American culture. Today's Japan is very much westernized.

To Erich: It is not true to say that Asians think that westerners are barbaric. Especially Indians are always grateful to English language that this language introduced them to the ideas such as equality, democracy, freedom etc.

Your question makes no sense.

Japan wasn't "isolated" from the West - it just developed its own culture and did so in an area where its culture shows similarities to other Asian culture.

The Asians were a going concern, culturally speaking, when Europeans were still living in caves.

Japanese still think of us as "gan-jin" - barbarians, a view shared by most Chinese and, to some extent, by most Asians.

I don't know what eric H is talking about saying europeans living in caves when asian Society was going. The etruscans in northern italy began around 1500 BCE and had written language and invented the Arch. And speaking of Japan itself they didn't have a written record until around the 13th century when the chinese came and taught them how to build read and write.

And the fact that Japan was an Island and completely isolated is Absolutely ludicrous. There was trading by ships in japan for thousands of years. That's how they got written language, and their architecture reminiscent of tang dynasty china.

Oh whoa paris its amazing how Buddhism one of Japans major religions was developed to be exactly the same as the indian religion founded 6th century B.C india, in japan. Whoa its amazing how a Island can never be reached or influenced.

Just from that logic you should know Paris is stupid.

how did the japanese isolation from the west change its society, lifestyle,

culture, economy..What else did it? effect? Anything you can type about japan's isolation from the west will be helpful. Thank you.