This Saturday is the 160th anniversary of the arrival of Admiral Perry’s famous “Black Ships” to Japan, an event that’s almost without parallel in the history of the world. After the Tokugawa clan won the title of Shogun (supreme military ruler) at the beginning of the Edo Period (1603-1868), Japan grew fearful that it would eventually be colonized by the Western powers of the day, and took the extreme step of closing the country off to the outside world entirely, except for a trading post with the Dutch in Nagasaki. For 200 years no foreign influence was allowed in, and many aspects of Japan’s culture that we appreciate today exist because of this unique period of history when Japan’s culture could grow like plants in a greenhouse. In 1853 everything changed, when Admiral Perry sailed his ships into Yokosuka harbor and demanded that Japan open to trade with the United States. It was a deep shock to the Japanese, who slowly realized they had to deal with the West and begin the process of becoming a modern industrialized nation. Today Admiral Perry is a household name, and (this being Japan), you can buy cookies with his face on the box in port cities like Yokohama and Hakodate, Hokkaido.
160 years ago Admiral Perry sailed into Japan’s hearts.
