Early Western travelers, whether to
Persia,
Turkey,
India,
China, would frequently remark on the absence of change in fashion there. The Japanese
Shogun's secretary bragged (not completely accurately) to a Spanish visitor in 1609 that
Japanese clothing had not changed in over a thousand years. However, there is considerable evidence in
Ming China of rapidly changing fashions in
Chinese clothing. Changes in costume often took place at times of economic or social change, as occurred in
ancient Rome and the medieval
Caliphate, followed by a long period without major changes.