Japan isolated from almost

all contact with other

nations. Under the rule of
the Tokugawa shoguns.
The Japanese did trade
with China, and the Dutch
merchants from Indonesia,
and had diplomatic contact
with Korea. Trade was
growing more important
within and outside Japan.
17
th
century
Tokugawa Shoguns: were the last feudal Japanese military government. Feudal system- decentralized
Extraterritorial: being exempted from the local law.

Early 19
th
century
Westerners tried
to convince the
Japanese to
open their ports
for trade, but
Japan refused
them
repeatedly.
1853

U.S. Commodore Matthew
Perry took four ships into
what is now Tokyo Harbor,
astounded and shocked by the
size and weapons of the ship,
The Tokugawa shogun
realized he had no choice but
to receive Perry and the letter
Perry had brought from U.S.
president Millard Fillmore.

1854

That reply to the letter
was the Treaty of
Kanagawa of 1854.
Japan opened two
ports where U.S. ships
could take on
supplies. soon other
Western powers
followed.
1860
Japan, like China, had granted
foreigners permission to trade at
several treaty ports, and also
extended extraterritorial rights to
many foreign nations.
1867
Giving in to pressure from the
people of Japan who were angry
that the Tokugawa had given in
so easily to the foreigners, the
Tokugawa shogun stepped
down, ending the military
dictatorships lasting since the
12
th
century. Mutsuhito took
control of the government
Mutsuhitos reign
Early 20
th

century-
1912
The Mutsuhitos
reign, known as
the Meiji era ends
after 45 years, and
the Japanese
economy had
become as
modern as any in
the world
1872
country built its first
railroad line connecting
the capital Tokyo, with
the port of Yokohama.
1875
Half a million tonnes
of coal production
1913
21 million tons of
coal production
1914
Japan had more than
7,000 miles of railroad
Traditional Japanese
industries, such as tea
processing and silk
production, expanded to
give the country unique
products to trade.
Developing modern
industries, such as
shipbuilding, made Japan
competitive with the West.

Period of Isolation
Ruled by Tokugawa Shoguns
Feudal system- decentralized
Meiji Era
Followed the best bits from
brittioan, the western, so
japan can come in at the
point where everything is
already good, and not make
mistakes, because the
westerns and Europeans
have already made those
mistakes. To create an
empire in Asia.