Japan's Transition: From Isolation to the Meiji Restoration

Vocabulary terms and definitions covering the end of the Edo period, the opening of Japan, and the early Meiji Restoration.

“don’t think twice” edict

An edict established by the Bakufu in $1825$ to expel all foreigners without hesitation, following the advice of Takahashi.

Takahashi

A government official who studied Western countries and advised the Bakufu to be more restrictive toward foreigners, comparing their arrival to flies gathering around a bowl of rice.

Dutch East India Trading Company

Founded in $1602$, it was the world’s first multinational corporation and the first to sell stocks; it held a monopoly on Dutch trade from South Africa to Japan.

Deshima Island

An island in Nagasaki that served as the only location where Japan permitted trade with the Dutch East India Company.

Ainu People

Descendants of Japan’s first Indigenous people, the Jomon, who traditionally believe that almost all natural things have a spirit.

Jomon

Japan’s first Indigenous people who anthropologists and archaeologists say arrived from Russia over $25000$ years ago.

Commodore Matthew Perry

An American naval officer known as the “father of the steam navy” who was instrumental in ending Japan’s self-imposed isolation by negotiating a trade treaty.

Treaty of Kanasawa

An $1854$ agreement between the Bakufu and Commodore Perry that opened two ports to US ships, provided coal and supplies, and ensured help for shipwrecked sailors.

Townsend Harris

An American consul appointed in $1856$ to organize a complex trade agreement between the United States and Japan.

Harris Treaty

An $1858$ agreement that allowed Americans to live in Edo and Osaka under the protection of American law.

Unequal treaties

A term used by Japanese intellectuals to describe agreements with Western powers (like those with Perry and Harris) that were seen as favoring the West over Japan.

Meiji Period

The era from $1868$ to $1912$ marked by the restoration of imperial rule and the rapid industrialization and modernization of Japan.

Oligarchy

The group of young, intelligent samurai who overthrew the Tokugawa Bakufu and took charge of the Meiji government.

“Enrich the country; strengthen the military”

The slogan used by the Meiji oligarchy to promote economic growth and industrialization.

Charter Oath

A document signed by Emperor Meiji in April $1868$ that outlined the goals of the new regime and decreed that policies would be based on consensus.

Unity of Rites and Rule

A new model for Japan introduced by the Meiji leaders that included the participation of both the Emperor and the government in ritual ceremonies.

Iwakura Mission

An $1871$ voyage where $50$ officials and $50$ students traveled to $12$ countries over $22$ months to find the best global ideas for Japan.

Iwakura Tomomi

The leader of the Iwakura Mission who served as the Chief Ambassador of Japan.

Kume Kunitake

The young scholar chosen as the mission recorder for the Iwakura Mission, whose daily journal was completed as a final report in $1878$.