Japanese Isolation Period

History essay
Topic 1- Discuss what led to the end of the period of isolation
Introduction:
The Japanese isolation period came to a close after US commodore Matthew Perry reopened all diplomatic relations with new countries as well as japans former trade partners. It started off when Japan made the decision to close off all contact with the outside world and force all foreign people to leave the country, which lasted around 200 years. It was 1854, when Mathew Perry sailed to Japan to make a stop to the isolation period and reopen the relations with Japan and other countries.
It was July the 8th, 1853 when US Commodore Matthew Perry from the US navy sailed into Tokyo with two sailing vessels and two steamers, demanded to end the Japanese isolation
After Tokugawa Bakufu put major strains on food resources, and Bakufu’ s inability to stop the arrival of the American fleet in 1853 this led to Japanese Daimyo, Peasants and Samurai feeling very frustrated with Bakufu. On January the 3rd, 1868 Emperor Meiji was nominated the new ruler of Japan, who brought new change both political and economic and new rules to Japanese society. “The Samurai were forbidden to carry swords in public or wear their distinctive hairstyle called the chonmage, which involved shaving the front part of their head and tying the remaining hair in a ponytail…. The Emperor also introduced a rapid program of industrial and military modernisation that made Japan as economically and militarily powerful as the nations of Europe and the United States by the beginning of the twentieth century.” –history textbook .This led to the end of the period of isolation as the new Emperor Meiji, brought new changes and helped modernise the country, stopping the isolation of Japan and coming together as one whole