Even more important than the revival of Buddhist influence was the bearing of the Catholic extermination upon the almost total exclusion of foreign trade from the shores of Japan. The entry of all foreign ships, except those of China and Holland, into Japanese ports was peremptorily forbidden. Neither the Chinese nor the Dutch entertained any idea of religious propagandism, their sole purpose being commercial. The Dutch, indeed, having shown a disposition to assist Japan in every way, enjoyed great credit with the Edo government, as will be more fully set forth in the next chapter. At first no restrictions were imposed on the commercial transactions of the Chinese and the Dutch, but subsequently a limit was set to the amount of trade and to the number of ships engaged, and the prices at which imported articles must be offered for sale were also determined officially. These restrictions were suggested by the fact that the trade involved a heavy drain of the precious metals. Indeed, the quantity of gold and silver exported from Japan during the interval between the inauguration of foreign commerce and the imposition of the above restriction was so large that Japan's resources were seriously impaired. It was found necessary to strictly interdict the shipping away of the precious metals, but there is strong reason to doubt whether the interdict effected much, for foreigners, disregarding the laws of Japan, contrived to carry on clandestine commerce in waters beyond the purview of the government's officials. FOOTNOTES: [1] Chronological and genealogical table of the Tokugawa shōguns.