Treaty of Kanagawa Opens Japan to Trade
The Treaty of Kanagawa, signed on March 31, 1854, marked a significant turning point in Japan's history by ending over two centuries of self-imposed isolation and opening the nation to foreign trade. The treaty emerged from the efforts of U.S. Commodore Matthew Perry, who arrived in Japan in 1853 with a fleet of modern warships, demonstrating Western military power and technology. This encounter compelled Japanese leaders to consider the necessity of engaging with the outside world, leading to the establishment of trade ports, such as Shimoda and Hakodate, for American merchant ships. The treaty not only facilitated American access but also set the stage for other Western nations to follow suit, fundamentally altering Japan's economic and political landscape.
The imposition of extraterritoriality, which allowed foreign nationals to be governed by their own laws while in Japan, ignited feelings of resentment and inferiority among the Japanese. These sentiments contributed to the Meiji Restoration of 1868, which dismantled the feudal Tokugawa shogunate and established a centralized government under Emperor Meiji. This new government launched a series of reforms aimed at modernization and fostering equal interactions with Western powers. Today, Japan stands as a leading global economy, a stark contrast to its previous isolation, reflecting the profound implications of the Treaty of Kanagawa and the transformations it initiated.
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Treaty of Kanagawa Opens Japan to Trade
Treaty of Kanagawa Opens Japan to Trade
The Treaty of Kanagawa, signed on March 31, 1854, opened Japan to trade with the West after centuries of isolation. It was the product of U.S. Commodore Matthew Perry's famous expedition to Japan in 1853.
The young United States was eager to secure access to Asian markets before Russia, Great Britain, and the other Great Powers of Europe monopolized all the most favorable trade arrangements for themselves. The Americans saw Japan, which had maintained a policy of isolation for centuries, as an opportunity. With a squadron of warships, Commodore Perry sailed into Tokyo Harbor on July 8, 1853. The sight of modern naval vessels, and the projection of power they represented, intimidated the Japanese, who had nothing to match the guns of the Western warships. Reluctantly, the Japanese government and the emperor agreed to the terms of a trade treaty that Perry had brought with him. The Treaty of Kanagawa was executed the following year, after Perry had returned with an even larger fleet. It provided for, among other things, the opening of the ports of Shimoda and Hakodate to American merchant ships. By doing so, the treaty initiated foreign trade with Japan, and more Western nations would follow in Perry's wake.
Perry's arrival was an eye-opener for the Japanese, who were now confronted with the undeniable evidence of their military and technological inferiority to the West. They had been fiercely proud of their civilization and military traditions and considered Westerners to be barbarians, who, alas, could now come and go with impunity. One after the
other Britain, Russia, France, and other countries began sending their ships to Japan as well. Eventually, virtually all of the Japanese ports were forced open to trade with the United States and Europe. Particularly galling for the Japanese was the imposition of extraterritoriality on them in their dealings with Westerners, so that citizens of those other countries were subject only to the laws and authorities of their home nations with respect to their actions in Japan. Extraterritoriality was a mark of inferiority and was deeply resented in Japan.
The result was the Meiji Restoration of 1868, which overthrew the ancient Tokugawa shogunate, in which power was diffused among the daimyos, local feudal lords. Replacing this system was an aggressive central government under the emperor. The emperor, who had just succeeded to the throne as Prince Mutsuhito, took the name Meiji, which means “enlightened rule.” The new Japanese government embarked on a pro-Western program of modernization, internal reforms, and increased contact with the rest of the world so that Japan could one day deal with the West on equal terms. Today's Japan is the polar opposite of the insular Japan of the 1854 Treaty of Kanagawa and boasts a trade-based economy that is the second-largest in the world.