The impact that Confucius, Gandhi and Western ideas have had on China, Japan and India"The future depends on what you do today " (Gandhi). In Japan, China and India each country was faced with similar opportunities and chose a different path that influenced their future, setting them apart from each other. When Western countries entered China, India and Japan, each country reacted differently to the Western ideas brought by these foreigners and which would later change the culture. Japan and China isolated themselves from other countries, while India remained open, inviting modern ideas into its culture. Trade then increased in the Indian economy, as it destroyed China in the Opium Wars. Japan remained strong during the isolation, benefiting from not trading with other countries. The beliefs that China, Japan and India placed in Gandhi and Confucianism have had an impact on the countries. Gandhi, Confucianism, and Western ideas influenced Japan, China, and India religiously, culturally, and economically. Western ideas and influence during the period between 1500 and 1800 had an economic and cultural impact on Indian, Chinese, and Japanese societies. In 1543 the Portuguese arrived in Japan bringing with them guns, watches, glasses, tobacco and Christianity which led to the unification and conversion of many citizens to Christianity. Religious conversions led to the destruction of temples throughout Japan. In 1598, due to the destruction of the country's religious culture, all Europeans who had traded with Japan were "driven out" (with the exception of the Dutch and Koreans), resulting in Japan remaining in isolation for the next 255 years . The isolation led to a new Shogunate government that brought neither civil war nor peace to the country. T...... middle of paper....../philosophy_nonviolence_atombombahimsa.htmTucker, John, Tucker,. "Japanese Confucian Philosophy". Stanford University. Stanford University, May 20, 2008. Web. January 5, 2014. http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/japanese-confucian/ Bibliography: "Confucianism - Philosophy and Religion of Ancient India and China." Confucianism - Philosophy and religion of ancient India and China. Np, nd Web. 07 January 2014. https://sites.google.com/site/paroaci/confucianism "Gandhi's View on Nonviolence: Atomic Bomb and Ahimsa." Gandhi's view on nonviolence: atomic bomb and ahimsa. Np, nd Web. 07 January 2014. http://www.gandhi-manibhavan.org/gandhiphilosophy/philosophy_nonviolence_atombombahimsa.htm Tucker, John, Tucker,. "Japanese Confucian Philosophy". Stanford University. Stanford University, May 20, 2008. Web. January 5, 2014. http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/japanese-confucian/