For 220 years, Japan was isolated from the outside world due to years of internal conflict and fear of colonization by European powers. When Commodore Matthew Perry sailed into Edo Bay in 1853, he changed the course of history in the Pacific. The opening of Japan would have direct consequences on the balance of power in Asia.
Who Was Matthew Perry?
Matthew Calbraith Perry was born on April 10, 1794, in Newport, Rhode Island into a prominent naval family. His father was a captain and one of his siblings was the famed Commodore Oliver Perry, the victor of the Battle of Lake Erie in the War of 1812. After some brief schooling, he joined the navy as a young midshipman in 1809 and gradually rose up the ranks after serving on several frigates during the War of 1812.
In 1821, he received his first command of a 12-gun sloop called the USS Shark. After seeing service in the Caribbean, he was promoted to captain in 1837. While serving at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, he became a major proponent of the use of steam-powered warships and oversaw the construction of the USS Fulton. He took command of the ship and acquired the nickname the “The Father of the Steam Navy.” His abilities were noted in Washington, leading to his promotion to commodore in 1841. The navy did not have admirals yet, meaning that Perry was now one of the highest-ranking officers in the United States military.
During the Mexican-American War, Perry took command of the Home Squadron, the navy’s preeminent force. He commanded assaults on Mexican ports in conjunction with the army, including a major amphibious assault on Veracruz. He also personally led an assault on the port of Tabasco. His wartime performance made him a legend, leading President Millard Fillmore to select him for what would be his most famous naval accomplishment.
The Tokugawa Shogunate and Japan’s Isolation
Before the US Navy arrived in 1853, Japan was undergoing a period of isolation called Sakoku. In 1603, Tokugawa Ieyasu took control of all of Japan from other warlords known as daimyo. He established the Tokugawa Shogunate, in which a shogun, or senior military leader, ruled Japan through a dictatorship. Also known as the Bakufu, the institution of the shogunate had first been established in the late 12th century and would last until the mid-19th century with the exception of a period of fragmentation in the 16th century. Under this form of government, the emperor remained an important symbolic and religious figure but political power was concentrated in the hands of the shogun.
The Shogunate maintained a strict system of class segregation and repression. Warriors led by the daimyo and shogun were known as samurai. Ieyasu feared a resurgence of anarchy that preceded his rule, so he insisted on maximum control. Nonetheless, Japanese culture flourished during this period and the economy on the four main islands of Japan boomed.
Members of the Tokugawa clan feared that the entry of foreigners would lead to the erosion of their power and that Christianity would overtake Shintoism as the religion of the state. Therefore, they insisted on little contact with the outside world. However, some concessions were made: Dutch ships could dock on an artificial island in Nagasaki and some Chinese merchants were allowed to visit. However, no other contact was tolerated and the shogunate was determined to ensure that no foreign influence could take hold in Japan. Even after Perry arrived in Japan, the samurai insisted on retaining as much power as possible.
The Squadron’s Composition and Plan
President Millard Fillmore was a supporter of Manifest Destiny, the belief that America was ordained by God to become a great power. His Secretary of State, Daniel Webster, had written a letter to the emperor asking for American ships to gain entry to Japan to return some shipwrecked sailors. Some American ships had tried to visit prior to 1853, but were either turned away or attacked. When this letter went unanswered, Fillmore’s cabinet resorted to gunboat diplomacy and decided to send some warships to Japan with the hope of formally opening trade ties.
At first, Perry hoped to avoid such a mission since he did not know enough about Japan. When his request to command the Mediterranean Squadron was turned down, he set about preparing a force to go to Japan. He and several subordinates read books on Japan from authors including Philipp Franz von Siebold, who had lived in Nagasaki for several years. Webster and the Navy Department granted him latitude to pursue his task, including threatening the use of force if necessary.
For his expedition, Perry chose several officers whom he had known from the Mexican-American War. His flagship was the steam-powered frigate USS Mississippi. The frigates Susquehanna, and Powhatan, the armed store steamships Lexington, Supply, and Southampton, and the sailing sloops Macedonian, Plymouth, and Saratoga rounded out the rest of the squadron. Commander Henry Adams served as his chief of staff. Gifts were brought on board for the shogun and the Japanese court. In the event of hostility, the ships were well armed and Marine detachments brought extra small arms.
The Voyage to Japan
On November 24, 1852, Perry took his squadron out of Hampton Roads, Virginia, and headed for Madeira. He hoped to avoid sailing around the treacherous waters of Cape Horn in South America by sailing around the Cape of Good Hope instead. His fleet made repeated stops for resupply and to let the men rest on the way. By early 1853, the squadron rounded the Cape of Good Hope and after a couple of more stops, arrived in China in April 1853.
While in Hong Kong and Shanghai, Perry met with local dignitaries and American diplomats to prepare for his final trip into Japan and to drop off mail. He planned to go to Japan with four ships: the Susquehanna, Mississippi, Plymouth and Saratoga. He also switched his flag to the Susquehanna before setting out for the Ryukyu island chain, a small archipelago south of the Japanese Home Islands.
The Ryukus were ruled by a local nobility that also shunned outsiders. In late May, Perry arrived with his reduced squadron at Okinawa, the main island in the Ryukyus. He demanded the right to land sailors and marines, as well as a coal station and trading rights. Perry knew that the shogun’s government would be aware of his visit to the islands. After meeting with Ryukyu King Shō Tai at Shuri Castle, he obtained promises that the Ryukus would be open to trade with the United States. His success confirmed the power of gunboat diplomacy and his squadron prepared to descend on Japan in June 1853.
The First Visit in 1853
On July 8, 1853, Perry’s squadron arrived at Edo Bay near what is today Tokyo. His ships were surrounded by Japanese guard ships ordering him to withdraw. When he refused, both Japanese and American vessels remained at anchor, waiting for the impasse to end. Perry turned away port officials and demanded to meet with high-ranking Japanese diplomats because he wanted to deliver the Webster letter. He also refused to take his fleet to Nagasaki when asked to do so.
On land, the Shogunate was in serious turmoil. Shogun Ieyoshi was very sick and his government was divided. Many Japanese feared that they did not have the firepower to stand up to the Americans. After emergency consultations, Japanese advisors to the shogun including Abe Masahiro decided that accepting the American letter was not a violation of Japan’s sovereignty. They also allowed Perry to land a small party in Kurihama.
On July 14, Perry landed with 250 sailors and marines and formally delivered the letter. His squadron left, promising to return when the Japanese had an answer to the Fillmore administration’s inquiry. Ieyoshi died shortly afterwards and was replaced by his son, Tokugawa Iesada. All the daimyōs were consulted on how to respond; they were equally divided. Some believed that trade ties with America would benefit Japan and that Japan was too weak to fight. Others insisted that giving in to America’s demands would be a violation of Japan’s sovereignty. In the meantime, Japan prepared its defenses for Perry’s return.
Perry’s Return in 1854
Perry hoped to reinforce the notion that he was serious about Japan accepting the terms of his agreement. When his fleet returned to Edo Bay on February 13, 1854, he had eight ships instead of the original four and a complement of 1,600 sailors and marines. Another supply ship arrived later. By this point, the shogunate had agreed to almost all of the American demands. However, there was a disagreement about where to meet. After repeated threats, both sides settled on the village of Yokohama. Perry landed there with a party of 500 sailors and marines.
Notwithstanding Perry’s prior threats, he did bring with him gifts for the emperor and shogun. Many of the American gifts were designed to highlight the technological prowess of the United States: for instance, one of the gifts was a miniature steam locomotive. Several ceremonies toned down the tension between both countries. Finally, after some additional negotiations, the Americans and Japanese signed the Treaty of Kanagawa. This agreement gave the United States the ability to build coaling stations at the ports of Shimoda and Hakodate. It also allowed for the creation of an American consulate. Perry left Japan in early summer.
The Tokugawa shoguns’ concerns that they would lose power upon opening up to foreigners were not misplaced. While the process took over a decade, the Treaty of Kanagawa and the arrival of other European powers such as the British and the French led to the Meiji Restoration in 1868, which brought an end to both the Sakoku policy and the shogunate itself.
The Meiji Emperor and his advisors sought to modernize Japan with western technology, but remained anxious about encroachments by the United States and European powers. Japan sought imperial expansion on its own account, defeating China in the First Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895 and Russia a decade later in the Russo-Japanese War. When Commodore Perry opened the door to Japan in 1854, he inadvertently set the stage for the clash between the United States and Japan in the Pacific during the Second World War.
