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The shift in these dynamics occurred in 1853 when the American
Colonel Matthew Calbraith Perry forced his United States fleet into Yedo
(or Edo) Bay, demanding that the Japanese reopen their ports to trade and
re-establish a relationship with the greater world. Negotiations ensued,
resulting initially in the Treaty of Kanegawa (1854), which allowed for fewer
limitations on trade with the West, and later in the Treaty of Edo (signed on
26 August, 1858), establishing full trading rights between Japan, the US,
Great Britain, France and Russia. *
In 1867, the Tokugawa Dynasty was toppled after a series of
unfortunate events that occurred as fallout from these arrangements. Having
been ultimately blamed by agreeing to the Treaty conditions, the Shogun
was replaced by the Emperor Meiji and the Imperial state was restored, with
the Imperial residence moving from Kyoto to Edo, the former Tokugawa
capital, which was renamed Tokyo in 1868. Thus began the early Modern
phase of Japan’s history, known as the Meiji Period (1868 – 1912).
* The agreements were made, and treaties signed, without a call to arms. This is due to several
reasons. Most importantly, the Japanese were aware of the recent Opium Wars, instigated by trade
disagreements between China and Britain (waged 1839 – 1860). The Chinese had suffered huge
casualties and devastating defeats, including the loss of Hong Kong, which was ceded in perpetuity
to Great Britain in 1841 (and not returned to China until 1997). The Japanese were therefore
fearful of the possible repercussions of resisting trade agreements. This concern was exacerbated by
the sheer magnitude of the US forces; for a country that had remained in a medieval,
unindustrialised state for centuries, the mere sight of the US fleet was terrifying. However, the
Japanese were also in awe: the introduction to these mighty, threatening steamships highlighted
Japan’s weaknesses and “primitiveness”, and therefore the need to industrialise and the desire to
modernise. Thus began the rapid industrialisation of Japan, commencing in the Meiji Period.
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