Sakoku Edict of 1635 - After The Edict

After The Edict

Following the precedence of this seclusion edict, others followed in its footsteps. One example is the edict detailing the Exclusion of the Portuguese in 1639. This isolationist policy would continue to thrive until 1858, nearly two hundred years later, when Commodore Perry from the Americas embraced Japan at the Convention of Kanagawa (Nichibei Washin Jōyaku, 日米和親条約). Although the isolationist policy was not willingly given up, on July 29, 1858, Japan and the United States signed the Treaty of Amity and Commerce (Nichibei Shūkō Tsūshō Jōyaku, 日米修好通商条約), also known as the Harris Treaty. The signing of this document opened numerous trade ports in areas such as Edo, Kobe, Nagasaki, Niigata and Yokohama along Japan’s coast.