I think Japan cultural was/is seen as both ‘untainted’* due to their historical isolationism and the ability to mostly resist foreign encroachment and sufficien

I think Japan cultural was/is seen as both ‘untainted’* due to their historical isolationism and the ability to mostly resist foreign encroachment and sufficiently sophisticated enough not be considered inferior which makes it pretty unique from the western perspective. *of course modern Japanese society is probably much closer to Victorian Britain than to what Japan was in the 1850s