During historic times, for roughly 2,000 years, Japan was never
successfully invaded. In 1066 William the Conqueror successfully
invaded England. But two centuries later, in 1274 and 1281, Kublai
Khan’s Mongol-Chinese armies twice failed to conquer Japan. For long
periods, when Japan’s rulers so wished, they were able to isolate their
country more or less completely from the Asiatic mainland.
On the other hand, Japan was close enough to the continent to benefit
from the earlier growth of civilization there. From the very beginning
of Japanese national life, we can trace significant advances to the
coming of peoples and cultures from the Korean peninsula. At times,
notably in the seventh and eighth centuries, the flood of cultural
influences from China almost swamped Japan and threatened to sweep away
her native institutions. During the past century Western influence has
caused equally great changes in Japanese life. Each time, however, a
solid core of Japanese tradition resisted destruction, and shaped the
new elements into a social pattern characteristically Japanese.