Isolation and threats

Question 1

What year did Portuguese traders land in Japan

Answer 1

In 1543, Portuguese traders landed in the
south of Japan

Question 2

Who was completed the first Christian mission in Japan

Answer 2

in 1549, the Portuguese Catholic priest Francis Xavier began the first Christian mission on the southern island of Kyushu

Question 3

Over the next 50 years, which countries also did trade with Japan

Answer 3

Over the next fifty years, Spanish, Italian, Dutch and English traders followed

Question 4

What were the first products introduced to Japan

Answer 4

At first, contact was friendly and new products, such as tobacco and watermelons, were introduced.

Question 5

What gave the Japanese the most facination

Answer 5

But what held most
fascination for the Japanese was a weapon a type of musket that the Portuguese brought with them

Question 6

Why did the Shoguns dislike Christianity

Answer 6

The shoguns relied on the spiritual authority of Buddhism and Shintoism for their authority and saw Christianity as a threat

Question 7

Why did the shoguns also fear the daimyos

Answer 7

They also feared that daimyo in outlying regions might build up their
wealth through trade, and become a threat to their rule.

Question 8

What were the edicts the shogun created?

Answer 8

banned the practising of Christianity. prohibited Japanese from travelling abroad, banned Portuguese ships from entering Japanese ports, regulated any other foreign trade

Question 9

What happened as a result of the edits?

Answer 9

As a result of these edicts, in the attempt to stem the influence of Christianity, thousands of Japanese Christians were killed

Question 10

Why were the Portuguese singled out?

Answer 10

The Portuguese were singled out for exclusion because they had combined religion with trade

Question 11

Why did the Japanese like the Dutch

Answer 11

The Dutch, on the other hand, were tolerated because they were more concerned with trade than
religion

Question 12

What books did the Japanese want from the Dutch?

Answer 12

They were permitted to import any books except those dealing with Christianity. From these imported books, the Japanese gathered some knowledge of Western science

Question 13

What studies were permitted and what studies were banned?

Answer 13

Although Japanese scholars did study astronomy, medicine and other sciences, the study of politics was banned

Question 14

How many years in the Tokugawa shogunate were peaceful and prosperous?

Answer 14

The first two centuries of the Tokugawa reign were prosperous and peaceful

Question 15

What happened from 1800-1860 and what does this mean

Answer 15

1800 to 1860 was called a time of naiyu gakan ‘troubles from within and without’.

Question 16

What changed to warfare happened to the samurai?

Answer 16

Samurai, no longer engaged in warfare, were reduced to being bureaucrats
or government officials

Question 17

What did the samurai depend on?

Answer 17

They depended on payments from their daimyo, but these did not keep up with the rising cost of living or the expense of visiting the shogun.

Question 18

What changed to warfare happened to the merchants?

Answer 18

Although merchants were considered the lowest class, their income continued to grow and they were able to afford a more luxurious lifestyle

Question 19

What was the first country to force Japan to open its borders?

Answer 19

The United States was the first country to force Japan to open its ports

Question 20

Why did the americans want access to Japanese ports

Answer 20

The Americans wanted access to Japanese ports to refuel their ships and to take on food and water

Question 21

What was the American president demands from the Japanese

Answer 21

free trade between the two countries, Shipwrecked sailors should be treated with kindness. steamships be able to stop in Japanese ports to take coal, water and food

Question 22

What would commodore Perry do after the demands for Japan

Answer 22

Perry said he would give the shogun six months to reply, and would return with a much larger force if necessary

Question 23

What was the shogun’s plans for the Treaty of peace and friendship

Answer 23

American ships could call at two ports, Shipwrecked sailors would be treated well, an American Consul would reside at Shimodu

Question 24

What is another name for the Treaty of Peace and Friendship

Answer 24

Treaty of Peace and Friendship, which was called the Kanagawa Treaty after the name of the place where it was signed

Question 25

Which countries sign similar treaties with the Japan?

Answer 25

Russia, France, Britain and Holland had signed similar treaties

Question 26

What were foreign countries able to do with their treaties with Japan

Answer 26

They gave foreign governments the right to apply their own laws in their territories, despite these being on Japanese soil.

Question 27

What was start of the downfall of the Tokugawa shogunate

Answer 27

Many Japanese opposed the Tokugawa shogun having signed humiliating treaties with the United States

Question 28

Which daimyos created a strong opposition

Answer 28

Echizen, Choshu, Satsuma, Tosa and Mito

Question 29

What did the opposition daimyos believe was best for Japan?

Answer 29

They believed that the best way to stop foreign influence in Japan was to modernise

Question 30

What type of Dutch books did the Japanese use to master western technology

Answer 30

Using information on scientific, industrial and military development from Dutch books they began to master Western technology

Question 31

What does the Japanese slogan kaikoko joi mean

Answer 31

open the country to drive out the
barbarians

Question 32

What investigation opened

Answer 32

An Institute for Investigation of Barbarian Books was opened and men were sent on overseas study trips, although this was still illegal

Question 33

What does sonno joi mean?

Answer 33

revere the Emperor and expel the barbarian

Question 34

What happened on November 1867

Answer 34

Tokugawa Yoshimba (1837–1913) resigned in November 1867, ending the reign of shoguns

Question 35

What happened on 3 January 1868

Answer 35

On 3 January 1868, a high official of the emperor’s court in Kyoto made a proclamation that accepted the shogun’s resignation and abolished the position

Question 36

How old was the emperor when he abolished the shoguns

Answer 36

The new emperor, whose father died the year before,
was only fifteen years old

Question 37

What was the new emperorer called and what did it mean

Answer 37

He adopted the title Meiji , which meant ‘enlightened rule’

Question 38

What followed the removing of the shoguns

Answer 38

The court was moved from Kyoto to Edo and the emperor took up residence in the shogun’s palace

Question 39

What was Edo renamed to after the emporer was titled meiji

Answer 39

Edo was now renamed Tokyo — ‘Eastern capital’.

Question 40

What followed the imperial rule

Answer 40

Following its return to imperial rule under Emperor Meiji (the ‘Meiji Restoration’), Japan began to transform itself into one of the world’s wealthiest industrial nations

Question 41

What new Western technology was introduced?

Answer 41

New railways were built and modern communications, such as a telegraph system and postal services, were introduced to support new industries.

Question 42

What modelled Japans new army and navy

Answer 42

Japan’s new army was modelled on the Prussian army, and British and Dutch influences were taken on by the navy

Question 43

What role did samurai play in the miiji restoration period

Answer 43

Almost all of the key roles in the new administration, apart
from those held by a few court officials, were held by samurai and most samurai came from the outlying
domains that had led the original opposition to the shogun