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.
Case study
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- Japan’s shogunate, militarily outdated, could not resist Western firepower.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.
- Political Division
- Split between reformist daimyo (who wanted modernization) and conservative shogunal loyalists.
- Rise of Reformers
- Domains like Satsuma and Chōshū modernized armies and opposed the shogunate.
- Emperor’s Role
- For the first time in centuries, the imperial court in Kyoto became a center of political activism.
Definition
Satsuma and Chōshū
- Powerful southwestern domains that led the movement to overthrow the shogunate.
Definition
Sonno Joi
- “Revere the Emperor, expel the barbarians” was the slogan of loyalist resistance.
Fall of the Tokugawa Shogunate
- Loss of Legitimacy
- The shogunate’s inability to protect Japan from foreign influence led to loss of public confidence.
- Political Alliances
- The Satsuma-Chōshū Alliance (1866) united powerful domains against Tokugawa rule.
- Civil Conflict
- The Boshin War (1868–1869) pitted imperial forces against Tokugawa loyalists.
- Meiji Restoration (1868)
- Emperor Meiji declared the end of the shogunate, restoring imperial rule.
- Modernization
- The new government embraced Western technology and centralized power to prevent colonization.
Common Mistake
- Assuming Perry caused the fall alone: Internal weakness and samurai divisions were equally critical.
- Overlooking economic causes: Inflation and trade shocks undermined samurai and peasant livelihoods.
- Confusing reform with rebellion: Many anti-shogunate domains sought modernization, not isolation.
Exam technique
- Use Clear Structure: Foreign Intrusion → Internal Crisis → Fall of the Shogunate.
- Name Treaties and Events: Perry (1853), Kanagawa (1854), Satsuma-Chōshū (1866), Meiji (1868).
- Contrast Factions: Highlight the divide between pro-Western reformers and conservative isolationists.
Self review
- Examine the causes of the Bakumatsu political and economic crisis (1853–1868).
- Assess the impact of Commodore Perry’s expedition on the collapse of the Tokugawa shogunate.
- To what extent did internal divisions, rather than foreign pressure, lead to the fall of Tokugawa rule?
