The USA: How did Japan respond to the Perry Expedition?

Commodore Perry stayed for fewer than ten days in 1853, but after he returned in March 1854 with a much larger and more intimidating fleet, the Tokugawa Shogunate – realizing that resisting with force was impossible – decided it had no alternative but to sign the Kanagawa Treaty. The Shogunate capitulated to all the American demands. This treaty stipulated that Japan opened the ports of Shimoda and Hakodate to foreign ships for the purpose of obtaining supplies and repairs. This treaty, and the Harris Treaty which followed in 1858, were considered “unequal” granting foreigners privileges such as control over Japanese tariff levels, which weakened Japan’s sovereignty. The resentment and humiliation of these treaties fatally undermined the credibility of the Tokugawa Shogunate and set the stage for the Meiji Revolution of 1868.

Part of the full scheme of work on the Meiji Restoration