The Political and Economic Crisis: Foreign Intrusion and Perry’s Arrival
- Commodore Perry’s Expedition (1853–1854)
- U.S. naval officer who arrived with “Black Ships” demanding Japan open ports for trade and diplomacy.
- Treaty of Kanagawa (1854)
- Japan agreed to open two ports (Shimoda and Hakodate) for U.S. ships and granted safe harbor and consular rights.
- End of Isolation
- The sakoku policy collapsed, exposing Japan’s vulnerability to Western military and industrial power.
- Economic Shock
- Influx of foreign trade caused inflation and economic instability; gold and silver drained overseas.
- Shogunate’s Weakness
- The bakufu signed treaties without imperial approval, undermining its legitimacy among samurai and court nobles.
Definition
Bakumatsu
“End of the bakufu” — final years of Tokugawa rule (1853–1868).
Definition
Sakoku
- Japan’s isolationist policy under the Tokugawa Shogunate from the 1630s to 1853.
Commodore Perry’s Expedition (1853–1854)
Events and Demands
- Perry arrived in Edo Bay (Tokyo Bay) with four steam-powered warships, a show of force known as gunboat diplomacy.
- Delivered a letter from U.S. President Millard Fillmore, demanding trade, protection for shipwrecked sailors, and diplomatic recognition.
- Japan’s shogunate, militarily outdated, could not resist Western firepower.
- After months of deliberation, Japan signed the Treaty of Kanagawa in 1854.
- The treaty became the model for similar agreements with Britain, Russia, and the Netherlands.
Impact
- Exposed Japan’s technological inferiority to the industrialized West.
- Weakened shogunal authority as samurai criticized the bakufu for “betraying Japan.”
- Sparked national debate: some called for opening and modernization; others demanded resistance.
- Marked the end of isolation (sakoku) and beginning of foreign influence in Japan.
- Led to unequal treaties that favored Western powers and fueled anti-foreign sentiment.
Definition
Gunboat Diplomacy
- Use of naval power to enforce foreign demands.
Definition
Unequal Treaties
- Agreements granting foreigners trade and legal privileges in Japan.
Internal Unrest and Social Discontent
- Samurai Discontent
- Samurai lost prestige as foreign powers humiliated Japan; many demanded “Expel the Barbarians (Sonno Joi).”
- Economic Hardship
- Inflation and foreign trade hurt peasants and samurai with fixed stipends.
