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Imperial Japan
By 1800, the Tokugawa shogunate had ruled the Japanese islands for two hun- dred years. It had driven out foreign traders and missionaries and isolated the country from virtually all contact with the outside world. -
Freign Power
The first foreign power to succeed with Japan was the United States. In the summer of 1853, an American fleet of four warships under Commodore Matthew Perry arrived in Edo Bay. As Perry said, “to bring a singular and isolated people into the family of civilized nations.” Perry brought with him a letter from Pres- ident Millard Fillmore. Perry, accompaniedby an even larger fleet, returned to Japan foran answer. -
Townsend Harris
consul Townsend Harris signed a more detailed treaty. It called for the opening of sev- eral new ports to U.S. trade and residence, as well as an exchange of ministers. Similar treaties were soon signed by Japan and several European nations. -
Sat-Cho
In 1863, the Sat-Cho alliance forced the shogun to promise to end relations with the West.The rebellious groups soon showed their own weakness, however. he incident convinced the rebellious forces of the need to strengthen their military. They also became more determined not to give in to the West. As a result, Sat-Cho leade -
Attack of shogun’s palace
Their armies attacked the shogun’s palace in Kyoto and proclaimed that the authority of the emperor had been restored. After a few weeks, the sho- gun’s forces collapsed, ending the shogunate system. The Sat-Cho leaders had genuinely mistrusted the West, but they soon realized that Japan must change to survive. The new leaders embarked on a policy of reform that transformed Japan into a modern indus- trial nation. -
Meiji constitution
Meiji constitution, adopted in 1889, was modeled after that of Imperial Germany. Most authority was given to the executive branch. Under the new constitution, the upper house included royal appointments and elected nobles, while the lower house was elected. The two houses were to have equal legislative powers.In theory, the emperor exercised all executive authority, but in practice he was a figurehead. -
attack on the Russian naval base
In 1904, Japan launched a sur- prise attack on the Russian naval base at Port Arthur, which Russia had taken from China in 1898.We have seen that the Japanese modeled some of their domestic policies on Western practices. They also copied the imperialist Western approach to foreign affairs. Japan, after all, is small, lacking in resources, and densely populated. There is no natural room for expansion. -
humiliating peace
After their defeat, the Russians agreed to a humiliating peace in 1905. They gave the Liaodong Peninsula back to Japan, as well as the southern part of Sakhalin an island north of Japan. The Japanese victory stunned the world. Japan had become one of the great powers.In 1905, the United States recognized Japan’s role in Korea in return for Japanese recognition of American authority in the Philippines. -
“gentlemen’s agreement”
Moreover, some Americans began to fear the rise of Japanese power in East Asia. In 1907, President Theodore Roosevelt made a “gentlemen’s agreement” with Japan that essentially stopped Japanese immigration to the United States.The wave of Western technology and ideas that entered Japan in the last half of the nineteenth cen- tury greatly altered the shape of traditional Japanese culture. Literature was especially affected. -
Japan annexed Korea outright.
In 1910, Japan annexed Korea outright.Mutual suspicion between the two countries was growing, however. The Japanese resented U.S. efforts to restrict immigration. Moreover, some Americans began to fear the rise of Japanese power in East Asia.