Under the Tokugawa shogunate in the early 17th century, Japan experienced a period of political and social stability after years of civil war. The Tokugawa shoguns established a feudal system with themselves at the top and regional lords (daimyo) controlling lands and peasants below them. Society was strictly regulated along class lines, and the shogunate kept foreign influence at bay while allowing limited trade with China and the Dutch. Meanwhile in Korea, the isolated Yi dynasty ruled from 1392 to 1910 and maintained Korean culture while paying tribute to the neighboring Chinese Manchu empire that had invaded in the 1630s.

1. Tokugawa Japan & Korea