The episode traces the 1854 Treaty of Kanagawa, the agreement that ended Japan's sakoku policy of near-total seclusion after Commodore Matthew Perry's Black Ships arrived in Edo Bay. It follows the negotiations at Kanagawa between Perry and the shogunate's senior councilor, Hayashi Akira, over the opening of the ports of Shimoda and Hakodate, a U.S. consulate, and protection for shipwrecked sailors. The episode also covers the treaty's wider consequences, including the unequal treaties that followed, the economic strain and political upheaval within Japan, and the path that led toward the Meiji Restoration.
More: https://thetreatyarchive.com/treaty/treaty-of-kanagawa
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