Convention of Kanagawa
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On March 31, 1854, the Convention of Kanagawa (日米和親条約 Nichibei Washin Jōyaku) or Kanagawa Treaty (神奈川条約 Kanagawa Jōyaku) was concluded between Commodore Matthew C. Perry of the U.S. Navy and the Empire of Japan. The treaty opened the Japanese ports of Shimoda and Hakodate to United States trade, guaranteed the safety of shipwrecked U.S. sailors and established a permanent consul. The arrival of the fleet would trigger the end of Japan's 200 year policy of seclusion (Sakoku).[1]
Perry initially refused to deal with Japanese officials and demanded to speak with the Japanese Head of State. At the time, Shogun Tokugawa Ieyoshi was the de-facto ruler of Japan; for the Emperor to interact in any way with foreigners was out of the question. Perry concluded the treaty with representatives of the Shogun, and the text was reluctantly endorsed subsequently by Emperor Komei.[2]
This treaty became a significant causative factor leading to serial internal conflicts within Japan — an upheaval which was only resolved in 1867 with the end of the Tokugawa shogunate and the beginning of the Meiji Restoration.
The Kanagawa treaty was followed by the United States-Japan Treaty of Amity and Commerce, the "Harris Treaty" of 1858, which allowed the establishment of foreign concessions, extraterritoriality for foreigners, and minimal import taxes for foreign goods. The Japanese would chafe under the "unequal treaty system" which characterized Asian and western relations during this period.[3]
Similar treaties were subsequently negotiated by the Russians, the French, and the British.
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[edit] Kanagawa Treaty House
The Convention was negotiated and was then signed in a purpose-built house in Yokohama, Japan.
[edit] Notes
- ^ *Perry, Matthew Calbraith. (1856). Narrative of the expedition of an American Squadron to the China Seas and Japan, 1856.
- ^ Cullen, Louis M. (2003). A History of Japan, 1582-1941: Internal and External Worlds, p. 173-185.
- ^ Bert Edström, Bert. (2000). The Japanese and Europe: Images and Perceptions, p. 101.
[edit] References
- Bert Edström, Bert. (2000). The Japanese and Europe: Images and Perceptions. London: Routledge. 10-ISBN 1-873-41086-7; 13-ISBN 978-1-873-41086-8
- Cullen, L.M. (2003). A History of Japan, 1582-1941: Internal and External Worlds. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 10-ISBN 0-521-82115-X (cloth); 10-ISBN 0-521-529918-2 (paper)
- Perry, Matthew Calbraith. (1856). Narrative of the expedition of an American Squadron to the China Seas and Japan, 1856. New York : D. Appleton and Company. [digitized by University of Hong Kong Libraries, Digital Initiatives, "China Through Western Eyes." ]
- Taylor, Bayard. (1855). A visit to India, China, and Japan in the year 1853 New York : G.P. Putnam's sons. [digitized by University of Hong Kong Libraries, Digital Initiatives, "China Through Western Eyes." ]
[edit] See also
- United States-Japan Treaty of Amity and Commerce
- Anglo-Japanese Friendship Treaty
- Treaty of Shimoda
- Hayashi Akira
