Perry Expedition
The Perry Expedition refers to a pivotal diplomatic mission undertaken by the United States in 1853-1854, led by Commodore Matthew Perry, aimed at reopening trade relations with Japan. At this time, Japan had isolated itself from foreign contact for over two centuries under a policy known as Sakoku. The United States, eager to expand its trade in Asia and requiring resupply stations for its naval and whaling activities, sought to engage with Japan's markets. Perry's fleet, comprising heavily armed "black ships," arrived in Edo Bay, where he delivered a letter from President Millard Fillmore demanding the humane treatment of American shipwrecked sailors and the establishment of trade.
Japan's leaders, recognizing their inability to resist the military might of the United States, eventually agreed to Perry's terms, leading to the signing of the Treaty of Kanagawa in March 1854. This treaty not only provided protections for American sailors but also opened two Japanese ports for trade and marked the beginning of Japan's transition from isolation to engagement with the Western world. The expedition significantly influenced Japan's modernization, as it catalyzed the decline of the Tokugawa shogunate and the restoration of imperial power, ultimately positioning Japan as a major economic and military force in the early 20th century.
Perry Expedition
The Perry expedition took place in 1853 and 1854 when the United States sent Commodore Matthew Perry and a fleet of gunships to Japan to reestablish Western trade relations with the island nation. Japan had isolated itself from almost all foreign contact since the early seventeenth century and often responded to outside incursions with violence. In the mid-nineteenth century, a growing United States wanted to expand its trade relations with Asia and needed access to Japan and its markets. Perry’s expedition, with its intended show of force, was meant to convince Japan to allow access to its port cities to be used both for trade and as resupply and refueling stations. The expedition had a profound effect on Japan and the Western world, with Japan quickly growing into an economic power.
Background
The first known culture in Japan dates to about 13,000 BCE when groups of hunter-gatherers and fishers lived on the islands. As Japan’s culture grew and changed over the centuries, it was greatly influenced by contact with China, which had grown into a powerful empire on mainland Asia. Japanese agriculture, religion, and writing were all heavily influenced by the Chinese empire. According to legend, the first emperor of Japan was Jimmu who ruled about 600 BCE. However, Jimmu was not called an emperor until about a millennium later when the concept of “emperor” was borrowed from China.
By the twelfth century CE, several powerful families, or clans, were fighting with one another for control of the nation. In 1185, Minamoto Yoritomo, leader of the Minamoto clan, defeated the last of his rivals and consolidated his hold on power. He established the country’s first shogunate, a system of military rule in which power lies in the hands of a warlord called a shogun. The emperor was reduced to a figurehead during this period.
The first European explorers arrived in Japan in 1543, and within five years, the first Catholic missionaries had also arrived. Over the course of the next decades, Portuguese, Spanish, and Dutch traders conducted business in Japan, and missionaries converted hundreds of thousands of Japanese people to Catholicism.
In 1587, the warlord Hideyoshi Toyotomi started to become wary of Christian influences and expelled all missionaries in 1587. After his death, his successor, Tokugawa Ieyasu, declared that Japan’s borders were to be closed off. Only trade with China, Korea, and a small Dutch contingent on the island of Dejima near Nagasaki was allowed.
Japan’s period of isolation, known as Sakoku, or “chained country,” began in 1603. By 1639, the edict was tightened, with Japanese citizens forbidden from leaving the country and all foreigners expelled. Several attempts were made by foreign traders to overturn the ban, but many ended in disaster. In 1640, a group of sixty-one Portuguese emissaries was sent to the capital of Edo, modern-day Tokyo, to plead to have Japan reopened to trade. The men were executed, and their ship was burned.
Overview
By the mid-nineteenth century, the United States had expanded its borders to include land from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. California became a state in 1850, giving the nation several ports with which to conduct trade across the Pacific. The United States had negotiated a favorable trading treaty with China in the 1840s and wanted access to China’s markets. With its fleet of coal-powered steamships, the United States needed to have access to resupply stations in the Pacific. Japan, with its abundant coal supply, was a prime target.
At the same time, US whaling ships had been operating in the Pacific for decades. Crews who were shipwrecked or needed supplies occasionally found themselves stranded in Japan, where they faced harsh treatment by the Japanese. The United States had attempted to make contact with the Japanese in the 1830s, but the US ships were not permitted to land.
In 1851, US President Millard Fillmore authorized the US Navy to send an expedition to Japan to return shipwrecked Japanese sailors and ask for the return of shipwrecked Americans. After the mission’s original commander was reassigned, Commodore Matthew Perry was given the task. Perry had been a US Naval hero during the Mexican-American War (1846–1848) and was well-versed in naval combat.
Perry’s expedition arrived in Edo Bay on July 8, 1853. He commanded four heavily armed gunships that were painted black as a show of intimidation. The Japanese recognized the firepower of these kurofune or “black ships,” and allowed them to enter the harbor. Perry carried a letter from President Fillmore addressed to the emperor that showed a lack of knowledge about Japan, as the true ruler of the nation was the Tokugawa shogun. The letter asked that stranded American sailors be treated with respect and their ships allowed to be repaired. It also asked that American sailors be allowed to resupply in Japan and called for the opening of trade relations between the two nations. The letter ended with a not-so-subtle hint that the United States would respond with force, if necessary. Perry also brought gifts from the United States, including a working model train, a telescope, and a telegraph, which were designed to show off American technology.
Perry promised to return in a year’s time with a much larger force to accept Japan’s answer. Japan’s shogun realized that his nation could not win a war against the United States and reluctantly accepted the US terms. Perry returned to Japan in March 1854, at which time the nations signed the Treaty of Kanagawa. The treaty secured protections for American sailors and opened two Japanese ports for refueling and resupply. More importantly, the treaty gave the United States favored-nation trade status, which provided the basis for future trade with Japan.
Although Japan had been isolated for more than two centuries, the decision to do so was made by the leaders of the Tokugawa shogunate. The people of Japan did not wish to be isolated and welcomed trade with the Americans. The Tokugawa shogunate had already begun to weaken by the mid-nineteenth century, and the Perry expedition only hastened its downfall. In 1867, two rival clans toppled the shogunate and restored the emperor to power in 1868.
Buoyed by the increased trade with the West and the influx of new science and knowledge, Japan experienced a period of rapid modernization and growth. By the twentieth century, it had become one of the world’s most powerful economic and military powers.
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