In 1868, after more than two centuries of self-imposed isolation, Japan finally began to emerge into the modern world. The early 16th century saw the Tokugawa family being granted military control of Japan and introducing a policy of isolation in their name. During this period, beginning in the 1630s and ending with the arrival of Matthew Perry in 1853, Japan had extremely limited contact with the outside world. Japanese culture and Japan's domestic economy, however, continued to develop almost entirely without foreign influence. After reopening its borders to the rest of the world in 1868, the nation entered a period of rapid modernization, drawing on technological, cultural, military, and educational influences from other countries around the world. The Tokugawa family's policy of isolation had a moderate effect on Japan's modernization. The policy of isolation allowed Japan to progress beyond localized warfare, establishing trade and communication routes between previously disconnected localities and, along with the 250 years of peace enabled by Tokugawa rule, enabled the continued development of Japan throughout this period. The Tokugawa family's policy of isolation, however, prevented foreign influence, further separating the country from the West. Japan's modernization after this period saw the introduction of a bureaucratic government, improvements to its transportation system, further improvements to its industrial sector over those already made under Tokugawa rule, and the establishment of a powerful army. This army, among other things, led the Japanese on a path of rapid international expansion and colonization (Pyle, 2006). The Tokugawa family gained military control of Japan...... middle of paper ......lor and FrancisHuffman, JL 2010, Japan in World History, Oxford University Press, USATipton, EK 2008, The Modern Japan: A Social and Political History, ed. 2, In Nissan Institution, New York 2009, The Meiji Restoration, Asia for Educators, Columbia University, accessed March 14, 2014, Nester, William R. 1996. Power across the Pacific: A Diplomatic History of American Relations with Japan. New York: New York University Press. Nakamura, Takafusa. [1971] 1983. Economic Growth in Prewar Japan. Translated by Robert A. Feldman. New Haven: Yale University Press. Gordon, A 2003, A Modern History of Japan: From Tokugawa Times to the Present, Oxford University Press, New York Bill Gordon 2000, Explanations of Japan's Imperialistic Expansion, 1894-1910, Bill Gordon, consulted on 13 March 2014, Pyle, Kenneth B. The Making of Modern Japan. Lexington, MA: D.C. Heath, 1996