Detailed Chronology of "Bakumatsu" Era 1854-1868
I. Perry arrives in Uraga July 8, 1853 with letter
from President Fillmore to the Emperor of Japan:
"Great and Good Friend. . ."
He heads a modest fleet of 4 ships"
2 steam frigates, the Susquehanna and the Mississippi; and
2 sailing vessels, the Plymouth and the Saratoga.
Officials try to tell him he must go to Nagasaki but he threatens to go
onshore with sufficent force and deliver his letter in person. His letter,
accompanying the President's said:
1. He "hoped that the Japanese government will see the necessity
of averting an unfriendly collision between the two nations." And
2. "The undersigned, as evidence of of his friendly intentions, has
brought but four of the smaller ships of war, designing, should it become
necessary, to return to Yedo in the spring with a much larger force."
July 11, Perry steams into Edo Bay, takes soundings; tensions high. Bakufu
offers Governor of Uraga to accept Perry's letters.
II. A debate is now launched in Japan: what should the government do?
Two Poles: Jo-i v. Kaikoku
III. Abe Masahiro's Gamble: Circulate Letters to Daimyo and seek Opinions.
IV. Treaty of Kanagawa March 1854 --"wood and water" treaty
Port of Shimoda, at tip of Izu Peninsula, opened; Hakodate on Hokkaido
to follow
Consular Official from US to reside in Japan
Provisioning of Ships, Repatriation of shipwrecked sailors
V. Townsend Harris comes to Japan 1856 to negotiate a Commercial Treaty
Harris stresses trade will benefit Japan
Dealing with nice US better than mean UK
1858 Hotta Masayoshi accepts draft of Harris Treaty
8 Treaty Ports Opened
Customs tariffs fixed by treaty
So National Sovereignty surrendered by these "Unequal Treaties"
VI. Succession Issue: who will succeed ailing Iesada--who is sick, with no heir?
Tokugawa Yoshinobu (aka Keiki), able Daimyo of Hitostubashi (shimpan
domain), 7th son of Nariaki, educated under Aizawa Seishisai
v.
12 yr old Daimyo of Kii, a Fudai daimyo
Hotta's Gamble: He goes to Kyoto to secure Emperor’s support for Treaty
and for naming Keiki as next Shogun--backfires as Emperor Komei
--expresses disapproval of the treaties
--wouldn't support daimyo of Kii
So Hotta, who broke precedent traveling to Kyoto to seek Emperor's
approval, is humiliated
VII. Ii Naosuke, leader of Fudai, replaces beleagured Hotta, assumes title of
TAIRO
In April 1858, Ii Naosuke was appointed Tokugawa Regent, making him head
of the
Shogun’s council and arbitrary ruler of the military government. In June,
Regent Ii realized a commercial treaty with the United States without Imperial
sanction, and pandemonium ensued.
Ii Launches Ansei Purge:
House arrest of Able Daimyo who backed Keiki
and arrest of shishi hotheads
Signed treaties himself
Declared Daimyo of Kii as Shogunal heir
Perceived as arrogant and high-handed, Ii is dramatically Assassinated by Mito
shishi March 1860
VIII. Trade was yielding surpluses but inflationary pressures as well
Prices in 1866 = 4x prior to 1858
Uchikowashi uprisings
IX. Yoshida Shoin (1830-1859) and Loyalism
After spending over a year in prison, Shoin was placed under house confinement.
In November 1857, he established his progressive Sho-ka-son-juku – Village
School Under the Pines – and thereby secured his place in Japanese history.
As samurai throughout Japan ranted and raved and vowed to kill
the “traitors” who had opened the country to the “barbarians,”
Yoshida Shoin preached Imperial Loyalism to young men of the lower rungs of
Choshu society at his academy in Hagi. He professed that the Emperor was the
true sovereign of Japan. He opened his pupils’ eyes to the dangerous situation
of the world outside. But Master Shoin nevertheless supported Tokugawa rule,
and favored Opening the Country to enrich the nation and develop a strong military.
He advocated a union between Kyoto and Edo to protect Japan from the threat
of foreign subjugation. These ideas he instilled in the minds of his young disciples.
And he was only twenty-seven years old. And he was very successful, for among
his disciples were future leaders of the revolution which was the Meiji Restoration,
including two prime ministers.
No sooner had Shoin heard the news of Ii’s “blasphemy,” than
he made a complete turnabout in his political stance, and became the most radical
of zealots who preached Imperial Reverence and Expelling the Barbarians. He
would now “correct” the lese majesty committed by the evil regent.
He would take part in a plot among radicals from other clans to assassinate
him, but first, in November 1858, he planned to assassinate a Tokugawa councilor
whom Ii had unsuccessfully sent to Kyoto to obtain Imperial sanction for the
commercial treaty.
Shoin’s plan was never realized, for it was determined by the Choshu authorities
that his radicalism threatened the well-being of their daimyo. In December Shoin
was again imprisoned in Hagi. But he would not compromise his ideals, and from
his cell became more and more defiant. “I am sorry to say,” he wrote
to a friend, “but I have no use for the Imperial Court, the shogunate,
or our clan. The only thing I need is…my own meager body.” If neither
Edo, Kyoto or Choshu would take the appropriate measures, then this archetype
of Japanese revolutionaries would. The revolution he envisioned would be accomplished
through the cooperation of lower ranking samurai and men from the peasant and
merchant classes. The notion was preposterous in 1858, but more prophetic perhaps
than even Shoin imagined.
1861 Heuskens assassinated
1862 Richardson Assassinated
1863 explusion order------> June Choshu firing on ships
X. Western powers respond w/17 ship joint attack on Choshu
September bombardment of Kagoshima for Richardson
1864 Kyoto Battle Choshu v. Satuma and Aizu---->Loyalist Movement Dead
1864 1st bakufu Punitive Expedition v. Choshu
--large force dispatched but Saigo Takamori of Satsuma intercedes to
negotiate a settlement
XI. Kobu-gattai=Union of Court and Military=promising movement for Able
Daimyo--->Iemochi and Princess Kazunomiya to marry
--->got restrictions on shipbuilding lifted, sankin-kotai requirements
eased
So resources can go to buy guns and ships abroad, build up coastal defenses
XII. Fukoku-kyohei = national wealth and strength = technology + Nati’l
Unification
1866 Sakamoto Ryoma brokers a pact between Satsuma and Choshu
So summer 1866 call for 2nd Punitive Expedition fails
XIII. 1867 Yoshinobu succeeds Iemochi puts reform plan into motion:
--Cabinet replacing Council of Elders
--New ministries
--New Taxes, promotion of industry, opening mines
--Professional standing army = Transformation of baku-han polity into
modern, centralized state
XIV. Younger samurai from Sat-Cho-To-Hi + Court members fear "rebirth of
Ieyasu"
1867 Sakamoto puts forth his 8 Point Plan
Tosa Proposal consisted of:
--abolition of shogunate
--establishment of bicameral legislature
-- return soverign power to imperial court.
Keiki accepts this proposal
XV. Dec. 1867 the Sat-Cho-To-Hi coalition launches a military assault on bakufu
anyway
Jan. 3, 1868 Edo Castle surrenders, Meiji ishin or Resoration is declared
Brief Civil War ensues
April 1868, Charter Oath issued by new Meiji Goverment