Prior to the unification of Japan in the Tokugawa Period, there was a forty year period in which the warring factions were slowly stabilizing.This is sometimes known as the Momoyama period.  

 

This was followed by unity and stability under Tokugawa Ieyasu.  Social class became set in stone in this feudal era.

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The Tokugawa, or Edo, Period played a late role in who Japan is today due largely to one aspect of the period: isolation.  Japan would experience over 200 years of isolation which helped to preserve much of Japan's history and culture, while the rest of Asia was dominated by European influence.  Christianity was seen as a piece of negative Western influence.  Christians were expelled or killed.

 

Closing its borders cut off most trade, leaving Japan to make the most of its natural resources and thus agriculture was essential.

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