ABSTRACT
There are special historical characteristics underlying Japanese nationalism. It is hard to know how far back nationalism can be traced in Japan’s long history. In general, the Japanese are a fairly homogeneous island people with a common language and religion. From 1630 to 1853 they had the unusual experience of living in a closed country (sakoku), whereby they were confined by their rulers within their home islands and were forbidden to go overseas. During this period, they had only limited contact with the outside world through the Chinese and the Dutch who occupied their own enclaves. The Japanese have always been conscious of the threat of invasion of their islands from either their mighty continental neighbours or intruders from elsewhere. Yet, despite the perceived threat of external attack, they generally lived in their clan communities and probably had less conception of a nation or nationality than of the class to which they belonged in their feudal society.
