This article or section needs copy editing for proper spelling, grammar, usage, tone, style, and voice. You can help by editing it now. A guide is available, as is general editing help.

Sakoku (Japanese: 鎖国, literally "country in chains" or "lock up of country") was the foreign relations policy of Japan under which no foreigner or Japanese could enter or leave the country on penalty of death. The policy was enacted by the shogunate under Tokugawa Iemitsu in 1641 and remained in effect until 1853, though the term was not coined until the 19th century. It was still illegal to leave Japan until the Meiji restoration. The term is used to describe the interaction taking place among governments, when striving to establish mutual contacts, another word for diplomacy. ... The Tokugawa shogunate or Tokugawa bakufu (徳川幕府) (also known as the Edo bakufu) was a feudal military dictatorship of Japan established in 1603 by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family until 1868. ... Tokugawa Iemitsu (previously spelled Iyemitsu); 徳川 家光 (August 12, 1604 — June 8, 1651) was the third shogun of the Tokugawa dynasty who reigned from 1623 to 1651. ... Events The Long Parliament passes a series of legislation designed to contain Charles Is absolutist tendencies. ... 1853 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... The Meiji Restoration ), also known as the Meiji Ishin, Revolution, or Renewal, was a chain of events that led to a change in Japans political and social structure. ...

A Chinese junk in Japan, at the beginning of the Sakoku period (1644-1648 Japanese woodblock print).

The policy stated that the only foreign influence permitted was the Dutch factory (trading post) at Dejima in Nagasaki. Trade with China was also handled at Nagasaki. In addition, trade with Korea was conducted via Tsushima Province (today part of Nagasaki Prefecture) and with the Ryūkyū Kingdom via Satsuma Province (in present-day Kagoshima Prefecture). Apart from these direct commercial contacts in peripheral provinces, all of these countries sent regular tributary missions to the shogunate's seat in Edo. As the emissaries travelled across Japan, even regular folk had a glimpse of foreign cultures. ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (509x731, 279 KB) File links The following pages link to this file: Junk (ship) Sakoku ... ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (509x731, 279 KB) File links The following pages link to this file: Junk (ship) Sakoku ... A four-masted junk. ... Dejima, also Deshima (出島, literally protruding island) in modern Japanese, Desjima in Dutch, often latinised as Decima, was a fan-shaped artificial island in the bay of Nagasaki that was a Dutch trading post during Japans self-imposed isolation (sakoku) of the Edo period, from 1641 until 1853. ... Nagasaki (Japanese: 長崎市, Nagasaki-shi  , long peninsula) is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture in Japan. ... Korea (Korean: 한국 or ì¡°ì„ , see below) is a geographic area, civilization, and former state situated on the Korean Peninsula in East Asia. ... Tsushima Province (対馬国; Tsushima-no kuni) was an old province of Japan (-19c) on Tsushima Island which occupied the area corresponding to modern-day Tsushima, Nagasaki. ... Oranda-zaka (Dutch Slope) in Nagasaki Castle in Shimabara The island of Hirado boasts a fine castle Nagasaki Prefecture (長崎県; Nagasaki-ken) is located on Kyushu island, Japan. ... The main building of Shuri Castle The flag of the Ryukyu Kingdom (1875-1879) The RyÅ«kyÅ« Kingdom (琉球王国 ryÅ«kyūōkoku) was an independent kingdom which ruled most of the RyÅ«kyÅ« Islands from the 14th century to the 19th century. ... Satsuma (薩摩国; -no Kuni) was an old province of Japan that is now the western half of Kagoshima prefecture on the island of Kyushu. ... Kagoshima Prefecture ) is located on Kyushu island, Japan. ... Edo (Japanese: 江戸, literally: bay-door, estuary, pronounced //), once also spelled Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of the Japanese capital Tokyo. ...

Trade under Sakoku

Japan traded at this time with five different entities, through four "gateways." Through the Matsumae fief in Hokkaidō (then called Ezo), they traded with the Ainu people. Through the Sō clan daimyo of Tsushima, they had relations with Joseon Dynasty Korea. The Dutch East India Company was permitted to trade at Nagasaki, alongside private Chinese traders, who also traded with the Ryūkyū Kingdom. Ryūkyū, a semi-independent kingdom for nearly all of the Edo period, was controlled by the Shimazu family of daimyo in Satsuma Domain. Tashiro Kazui has shown that trade between Japan and these entities was divided into two kinds of trade: Group A in which he places China and the Dutch, "whose relations fell under the direct jurisdiction of the Bakufu at Nagasaki" and Group B, represented by the Korean Kingdom and the Ryūkyū Kingdom, "who dealt with Tsushima (the Sō clan) and Satsuma (the Shimazu clan) domains respectively."^[1] Matsumae was the name of a town in Hokkaido, Japan, near the port of Hakodate. ... Hokkaidō   (北海道, literal meaning: North Sea Route, Ainu: Mosir), formerly known as Ezo and Yesso, is the second largest island and largest prefecture of Japan. ... For Ainu in J.R.R. Tolkiens fictional universe of Arda, see Ainur. ... The Ainu IPA: /?ajnu/) are an ethnic group indigenous to Hokkaidō and north of HonshÅ« in Northern Japan, the Kuril Islands, much of Sakhalin, and the southernmost third of the Kamchatka peninsula. ... The Sō (宗氏 -shi) were a Japanese clan that ruled the Tsushima Island from the Kamakura period to the end of the Edo period. ... Tsushima is a name related to Japan. ... The Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) (also Chosun), sometimes known as the Yi Dynasty, was a dynasty founded by General Yi Seonggye in what is modern day Korea, and lasted for five centuries as one of the worlds longest running monarchies. ... Dutch colonial possessions, with the Dutch East India Company possessions marked in a paler green, surrounding the Indian Ocean plus Saint Helena in the mid-Atlantic. ... Nagasaki (Japanese: 長崎市, Nagasaki-shi  , long peninsula) is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture in Japan. ... The main building of Shuri Castle The flag of the Ryukyu Kingdom (1875-1879) The RyÅ«kyÅ« Kingdom (琉球王国 ryÅ«kyūōkoku) was an independent kingdom which ruled most of the RyÅ«kyÅ« Islands from the 14th century to the 19th century. ... Grave of Shimazu family at Mount Koya. ... This article is about the province. ...

These two different groups of trade basically reflected a pattern of incoming and outgoing trade. The outgoing trade flowing out from Japan to Korea and the Ryūkyū kingdom, eventually being brought from those places to China. In the Ryūkyūs and Korea, the clans in charge of trade with the Ryūkyū Kingdom and Korea built trading towns outside Japanese territory--where commerce actually took place.^{[citation needed]} Due to the necessity for Japanese subjects to travel to and from these trading posts, this trade resembled something of an outgoing trade, with Japanese subjects making regular contact with foreign traders in essentially extraterritorial land. Trade with Chinese and Dutch traders in Nagasaki took place on an island called Dejima, separated away from the city by a small strait; foreigners could not enter Japan from Dejima, nor could Japanese enter Dejima, without special permissions or authority. Dejima, also Deshima (出島, literally protruding island) in modern Japanese, Desjima in Dutch, often latinised as Decima, was a fan-shaped artificial island in the bay of Nagasaki that was a Dutch trading post during Japans self-imposed isolation (sakoku) of the Edo period, from 1641 until 1853. ...

Rationale

Japan's first treatise on Western anatomical science, published in 1774, an example of "Rangaku". Tokyo National Science Museum.

The Sakoku policy was a way of controlling commerce between Japan and other nations, as well as asserting its new place in the East Asian hierarchy—one that helped push Japan away from tributary relations that had existed between itself and China for many centuries before. Later on, the Sakoku policy was the main safeguard against the total depletion of Japanese mineral resources—such as silver and copper—to the outside world. However, while silver exportation through Nagasaki was controlled by the Bakufu to the point of stopping all exportation, the exportation of silver through Korea continued in relatively high quantities.^[2] Image File history File linksMetadata JapanWesternAnatomy. ... Image File history File linksMetadata JapanWesternAnatomy. ... Chesma Column in Tsarskoe Selo, commemorating the end of the Russo-Turkish War. ... Rangaku (蘭学) or Dutch Learning was the method by which Japan kept abreast of Western technology and medicine in the period when the country was closed to foreigners, 1641-1853, because of the Tokugawa shogunates policy of national isolation (sakoku). ... Steam locomotive in front of the Tokyo National Science Museum. ...

The way Japan kept abreast of Western technology during this period was by studying medical and other texts in the Dutch language obtained through Dejima. This process was called "Rangaku" (Dutch studies). It became obsolete after the country was opened and the Sakoku policy collapsed. Thereafter, many Japanese students (e.g. Kikuchi Dairoku) were sent to study in foreign countries, and many foreign employees were employed in Japan (see o-yatoi gaikokujin). Dutch ( ) is a West Germanic language spoken by around 22 million people, mainly in the Netherlands and Belgium. ... Rangaku (蘭学) or Dutch Learning was the method by which Japan kept abreast of Western technology and medicine in the period when the country was closed to foreigners, 1641-1853, because of the Tokugawa shogunates policy of national isolation (sakoku). ... Kikuchi Dairoku as a professor at Tokyo Imperial University (now the University of Tokyo) Kikuchi Dairoku (菊池大麓 Kikuchi Dairoku, March 17, 1855 - August 19, 1917) was born in Edo, the second son of Mitsukuri Shuhei. ... The o-yatoi gaikokujin (Japanese: お雇い外国人 — hired foreigners, foreign employees) were foreign specialists, engineers, teachers, mercenaries and more, hired to assist in the modernization of Japan. ...

This policy ended with the Convention of Kanagawa in response to demands made by Commodore Perry. On March 31, 1854, the Convention of Kanagawa (Japanese: 神奈川条約, Kanagawa Jōyaku, or 日米和親条約, Nichibei Washin Jōyaku) was used by Commodore Matthew Perry of the U.S. Navy to force the opening of the Japanese ports of... Matthew Calbraith Perry (1794-1858). ...

Challenges to seclusion

Many isolated attempts to end Japan's seclusion were made by expanding Western powers during the 18th and 19th century. American, Russian and French ships all attempted to engage in relationship with Japan, but were rejected.

Japanese drawing of the HMS Phaeton in Nagasaki harbour in 1808.

• In 1778, a merchant from Yakutsk by the name of Pavel Lebedev-Lastoschkin arrived in Hokkaidō with a small expedition. He offered gifts, and politely asked to trade in vain.
• In 1787, La Perouse (1741–1788) navigated in Japanese waters. He visited the Ryūkyū islands and the strait between Hokkaidō and Honshū, naming it after himself.
• In 1791, two American ships commanded by the American explorer Kendrick stopped for 11 days on Kii Oshima island, south of the Kii Peninsula. He was the first known American to have visited Japan. He apparently planted an American flag and claimed the islands, although accounts of his visit in Japan are nonexistent.
• From 1797 to 1809, several American ships traded in Nagasaki under the Dutch flag, upon the request of the Dutch who were not able to send their own ships because of their conflict against Britain during the Napoleonic Wars^[3]:

• In 1797 US Captain William Robert Stewart, commissioned by the Dutch from Batavia, took the ship Eliza of New York to Nagasaki, Japan, with a cargo of Dutch trade goods.
• In 1803 William Robert Stewart returned on board a ship named "The Emperor of Japan" (the stolen and renamed "Eliza of New York"), entered Nagasaki harbour and tried in vain to trade through the Dutch enclave of Dejima.
• Another American captain John Derby of Salem, tried in vain to open Japan to the opium trade.

• In 1804 a Russian envoy named Nikolai Rezanov, sailed into Nagasaki, to request trade exchanges. The Bakufu refused the request, and the Russians attacked Sakhalin and the Kuril islands during the following three years, prompting the Bakufu to build up defences in Ezo.
• In 1808, the English warship HMS Phaeton, raiding on Dutch shipping in the Pacific, sailed into Nagasaki under a Dutch flag, demanding and obtaining supplies by force of arms.
• In 1811, the Russian naval lieutenant Vasily Golovnin landed on Kunashiri Island, and was arrested by the Bakufu and imprisoned for 2 years.

Japanese drawing of the Morrison, anchored in front of Uraga in 1837.

• In 1825, following a proposal by Takahashi Kageyasu, the Bakufu issued an "Order to Drive Away Foreign Ships" (Ikokusen uchiharairei, also known as the "Ninen nashi", or "No second thought" law), ordering coastal authorities to arrest or kill foreigners coming ashore.
• In 1837, an American businessman in Canton, named Charles W. King saw an opportunity to open trade by trying to return to Japan three Japanese sailors (among them, Otokichi) who had been shipwrecked a few years before on the coast of Oregon. He went to Uraga Channel with Morrison, an unarmed American merchant ship. The ship was fired upon several times, and finally sailed back unsuccessfully.
• In 1842, following the news of the defeat of China in the Opium War and internal criticism following the Morisson incident, the Bakufu responded favourably to foreign demands for the right to refuel in Japan by suspending the order to execute foreigners and adopting the "Order for the Provision of Firewood and Water" (Shinsui kyuyorei).

The USS Columbus and an American crewman in Edo Bay in 1846, from the failed mission of James Biddle, depicted by a Japanese artist.

• In 1844, a French naval expedition under Captain Fornier-Duplan visited Okinawa on April 28, 1844. Trade was denied, but Father Forcade was left behind with a translator.
• In 1845, whaling ship The Manhattan rescued 20 Japanese shipwrecked sailors. Captain Mercator Cooper was allowed into Edo Bay, where he stayed for four days and met with the Governor of Edo and several high officers representing The Emperor. They were given several presents and allowed to leave unmolested, but told never to return.
• In 1846, Commander James Biddle, sent by the United States Government to open trade, anchored in Tokyo Bay with two ships, including one warship armed with 72 cannons, but his demands for a trade agreement remained unsuccessful.
• In 1848, Half-Scottish/Half-Chinook Ranald MacDonald pretended to be shipwrecked on the island of Rishiri in order to gain access to Japan. He was sent to Nagasaki, where he stayed for 10 months and became the first English teacher in Japan. Upon his return to America, MacDonald made a written declaration to Congress, explaining that the Japanese society was well policed, and the Japanese people well behaved and of the highest standard.
• In 1848, Captain James Glynn sailed to Nagasaki, leading at last to the first successful negotiation by an American with "Closed Country" Japan. James Glynn recommended to the United States Congress that negotiations to open Japan should be backed up by a demonstration of force, thus paving the way to Perry's expedition.
• In 1849, the British Navy's HMS Mariner entered Uraga Harbour to conduct a topographical survey. Onboard was the Japanese castaway Otokichi, who acted as a translator. To avoid problems with the Japanese authorities, he disguised himself as Chinese, and said that he had learned Japanese from his father, allegedly a businessman who had worked in relation with Nagasaki.

Japanese 1854 print relating Perry's visit.

These largely unsuccessful attempts continued until, on July 8, 1853, Commodore Matthew Perry of the U.S. Navy with four warships: Mississippi,Plymouth, Saratoga, and Susquehanna steamed into the Bay of Edo (Tokyo) and displayed the threatening power of his ships' Paixhans guns. He demanded that Japan open to trade with the West. These ships became known as the kurofune, the Black Ships. Image File history File links Phaeton_(frigate). ... Image File history File links Phaeton_(frigate). ... HMS Phaeton was a frigate of the Royal Navy which was active in the Pacific during the Napoleonic Wars. ... Nagasaki (Japanese: 長崎市, Nagasaki-shi  , long peninsula) is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture in Japan. ... 1808 was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... 1778 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... The tower of ostrog, or fort, in Yakutsk was constructed in 1683. ... Pavel Lebedev-Lastoschkin was a Russian merchant from Yakutsk who, in the late 18th century, became one of the first Russians to make contact with the Japanese. ... Hokkaidō   (北海道, literal meaning: North Sea Route, Ainu: Mosir), formerly known as Ezo and Yesso, is the second largest island and largest prefecture of Japan. ... 1787 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Lapérouse by François Rude (1784-1855), in 1828 Lapérouse Jean François Galaup, count (comte) de La Pérouse (August 23, 1741 - 1788) was a French naval officer and explorer whose expedition vanished in Oceania. ... Location of Ryukyu Islands. ... Hokkaidō   (北海道, literal meaning: North Sea Route, Ainu: Mosir), formerly known as Ezo and Yesso, is the second largest island and largest prefecture of Japan. ... HonshÅ« (本州 Literally Main State) is the largest island of Japan, called the Mainland; it is south of Hokkaido across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyushu across the Kanmon Strait. ... 1791 (MDCCXCI) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 11-day-slower Julian calendar). ... John Kendrick (circa 1740 - December 7, 1794) was an American sea captain, both during the American Revolutionary War and the exploration of the Pacific Northwest alongside his partner Robert Gray. ... Kii ÅŒshima ) is an island lying 1. ... The Kii Peninsula is one of the largest peninsulas on the island of Honshu in Japan. ... 1797 (MDCCXCVII) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 11-day-slower Julian calendar). ... 1809 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Nagasaki (Japanese: 長崎市, Nagasaki-shi  , long peninsula) is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture in Japan. ... Combatants Allies: Austria[1] Portugal Prussia[1] Russia[2] Spain[3] Sweden United Kingdom[4] French Empire Holland Kingdom of Italy Kingdom of Naples Duchy of Warsaw Bavaria[5] Saxony[6] Commanders Archduke Charles Prince Schwarzenberg Karl Mack Gebhard von Blücher Duke of Brunswick Prince of Hohenlohe Mikhail Kutuzov... William Robert Stewart was a US Captain from New York who was active in attempting trade with Japan in the beginning of the 19th century. ... Look up Batavia in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Dejima, also Deshima (出島, literally protruding island) in modern Japanese, Desjima in Dutch, often latinised as Decima, was a fan-shaped artificial island in the bay of Nagasaki that was a Dutch trading post during Japans self-imposed isolation (sakoku) of the Edo period, from 1641 until 1853. ... Opium, or opïum is a narcotic analgesic drug which is obtained from the unripe seed pods of the opium poppy (Papaver somniferum L. or the synonym paeoniflorum). ... 1804 was a leap year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Nikolai Petrovich Rezanov was the head of Russian expedition to Alaska. ... Location of Sakhalin in the Western Pacific Sakhalin, GOST transliteration Sahalin, (Russian: , Korean: Traditional Chinese: 庫頁島; Simplified Chinese: 库页岛; pinyin: kùyèdÇŽo Japanese: 樺太 romaji: karafuto), also Saghalien, is a large elongated island in the North Pacific, lying between 45° 50 and 54° 24 N. It is part of the Russian... Location of Kuril Islands in the Western Pacific. ... For Ainu in J.R.R. Tolkiens fictional universe of Arda, see Ainur. ... 1808 was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... HMS Phaeton was a frigate of the Royal Navy which was active in the Pacific during the Napoleonic Wars. ... 1811 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Vasily (Vassili) Mikhailovich Golovnin (Головнин, Василий Михайлович in Russian) (4. ... Kunashir Island (国後島:Kunashiri in Japanese, Кунашир (Kunashir) in Russian, Black Island in Ainu language), a southwestern island of the Kuril Islands, located in the Sakhalin Oblast of the Russian Federation. ... Download high resolution version (769x655, 84 KB)The ship Morrison on which came Otokichi. ... Download high resolution version (769x655, 84 KB)The ship Morrison on which came Otokichi. ... Map of Tokyo Bay, 1917 The Uraga Channel (浦賀水道 Uraga-suido) is a waterway connecting Tokyo Bay to the Sagami Gulf. ... Queen Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom (1837 - 1901) 1837 (MDCCCXXXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Opening of the Stockton and Darlington Railway 1825 (MDCCCXXV) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... The Edict to Repel Foreign Vessels ) was a law passed by the Tokugawa Shogunate in 1825 to the effect that all foreign vessels should be driven away from Japanese waters. ... Queen Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom (1837 - 1901) 1837 (MDCCCXXXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... There are multiple Cantons in China Canton City : Guangzhou Canton Province : Guangdong This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Charles W. King was an American trader in Canton, who is famous for having tried to open trade with Japan, on the pretext of repatriating seven Japanese castaways, among them Otokichi, to their homeland, in 1837. ... Japanese drawing of Otokichi in 1849, as he visited Japan passing for a Chinese man. ... Official language(s) None Capital Salem Largest city Portland Area  Ranked 9th  - Total 98,466 sq mi (255,026 km²)  - Width 260 miles (420 km)  - Length 360 miles (580 km)  - % water 2. ... Map of Tokyo Bay, 1917 The Uraga Channel (浦賀水道 Uraga-suido) is a waterway connecting Tokyo Bay to the Sagami Gulf. ... 1842 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... There were two Opium Wars between Britain and China. ... Image File history File links VincennesYedoBay1846. ... Image File history File links VincennesYedoBay1846. ... The second USS Columbus was a 74-gun ship of the line in the United States Navy. ... Edo (Japanese: 江戸, literally: bay-door, estuary, pronounced //), once also spelled Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of the Japanese capital Tokyo. ... 1846 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... James Biddle (February 18, 1783 - October 1, 1848), of the Biddle family, brother of financier Nicholas Biddle and nephew of Captain Nicholas Biddle was an American commodore. ... 1844 was a leap year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... This article is about the prefecture. ... April 28 is the 118th day of the year (119th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 247 days remaining. ... 1844 was a leap year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... 1845 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... His Imperial Majesty, Emperor Akihito. ... 1846 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... James Biddle (February 18, 1783 - October 1, 1848), of the Biddle family, brother of financier Nicholas Biddle and nephew of Captain Nicholas Biddle was an American commodore. ... Tokyo Bay from space Tokyo Bay ) is a bay in the southern Kantō region of Japan. ... 1848 (MDCCCXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Chinook has several meanings: The Chinookan nation of Native Americans of the Pacific Northwest, which inhabited the lower Columbia River valley in what is now Washington, Oregon, and British Columbia. ... Ranald MacDonald, in Nagasaki, Japan. ... Rishiri Island (利尻島, rishiritō) rises out of the Sea of Japan off the coast of Hokkaido, Japan. ... Nagasaki (Japanese: 長崎市, Nagasaki-shi  , long peninsula) is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture in Japan. ... A congress is a gathering of people, especially a gathering for a political purpose. ... 1848 (MDCCCXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... James Glynn (1800-1871) was a U.S. Navy officer, who in 1848 distinguished himself by being the first American to negotiate successfully with the Japanese during the Closed Country period. ... Nagasaki (Japanese: 長崎市, Nagasaki-shi  , long peninsula) is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture in Japan. ... Type Bicameral Houses Senate House of Representatives President of the Senate Dick Cheney, R, since January 20, 2001 Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert, R, since January 6, 1999 Members 535 plus 4 Delegates and 1 Resident Commissioner Political groups (as of January 4, 2005 elections) Democratic Party Republican Party... 1849 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... The Royal Navy is the navy of the United Kingdom. ... HMS Mariner (J 380) was a Minesweeper of the Algerine Class that was launched 9 may, 1945 and commissioned 23 may, 1945. ... Topography, a term in geography, has come to refer to the lay of the land, or the physiogeographic characteristics of land in terms of elevation, slope, and orientation. ... Japanese drawing of Otokichi in 1849, as he visited Japan passing for a Chinese man. ... Nagasaki (Japanese: 長崎市, Nagasaki-shi  , long peninsula) is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture in Japan. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (944x421, 80 KB)Commodore Perrys fleet. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (944x421, 80 KB)Commodore Perrys fleet. ... July 8 is the 189th day of the year (190th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 176 days remaining. ... 1853 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Matthew Calbraith Perry (1794-1858). ... USN redirects here. ... Diagrams of first and third rate warships, England, 1728 Cyclopaedia. ... USS Mississippi, a sidewheel steamer, was the first ship of the United States Navy bear that name. ... USS Plymouth, a sloop-of-war, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for a town in Massachusetts on Plymouth Bay, 18 miles southeast of Brockton, Massachusetts; founded by the Pilgrims in 1620. ... USS Saratoga, a sloop-of-war, was the third ship of the United States Navy to be named for the Battle of Saratoga of the American Revolutionary War. ... USS Susquehanna, a sidewheel steamer, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for a river which rises in Lake Otsego in central New York and flows across Pennsylvania and the northeast corner of Maryland to empty into the Chesapeake Bay. ... Edo (Japanese: 江戸, literally: bay-door, estuary, pronounced //), once also spelled Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of the Japanese capital Tokyo. ... Tokyo , literally Eastern capital)   is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, the home of the Japanese Imperial Family, and the de facto[1] capital of Japan. ... Henri-Joseph Paixhans was a French artillery officer of the beginning of the 19th century. ... A gun is a common name given to a device that fires high-velocity projectiles. ... This article is in need of attention. ...

End of seclusion

The following year, at the Convention of Kanagawa (March 31, 1854), Perry returned with seven ships and forced the Shogun to sign the "Treaty of Peace and Amity", establishing formal diplomatic relations between Japan and the United States. Within five years Japan had signed similar treaties with other western countries. The Harris Treaty was signed with the United States on July 29, 1858. These treaties were widely regarded by Japanese intellectuals as unequal, having been forced on Japan through gunboat diplomacy, and as a sign of the West's desire to incorporate Japan into the imperialism that had been taking hold of the continent. Among other measures, they gave the Western nations unequivocal control of tariffs on imports and the right of extraterritoriality to all their visiting nationals. They would remain a sticking point in Japan's relations with the West up to the turn of the century. On March 31, 1854, the Convention of Kanagawa (Japanese: 神奈川条約, Kanagawa Jōyaku, or 日米和親条約, Nichibei Washin Jōyaku) was used by Commodore Matthew Perry of the U.S. Navy to force the opening of the Japanese ports of... March 31 is the 90th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (91st in Leap years), with 275 days remaining. ... 1854 (MDCCCLIV) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... The Treaty of Peace and Commerce between the United States and Japan was signed July 29, 1858. ... July 29 is the 210th day (211th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 155 days remaining. ... 1858 (MDCCCLVIII) is a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Sunday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... In international politics, gunboat diplomacy refers to the pursuit of foreign policy objectives with the aid of conspicuous displays of military power—implying or constituting a direct threat of warfare, should terms not be agreeable to the superior force. ... Cecil Rhodes: Cape-Cairo railway project. ... Extraterritoriality is the state of being exempt from the jurisdiction of local law, usually as the result of diplomatic negotiations. ...

References

1. ^ Tashiro, Kazui. "Foreign Relations During the Edo Period: Sakoku Reexamined." Journal of Japanese Studies. Vol. 8, No. 2, Summer 1982.
2. ^
3. ^ K. Jack Bauer, A Maritime History of the United States: The Role of America's Seas and Waterways, University of South Carolina Press, 1988., p. 57

See also

• Isolationism
• Hai jin (海禁)