In the year 1853, Japan is an isolationist, feudal society. By 1877, she’s a modern nation, with a centralized government and burgeoning national industry. This process, called the Meiji Restoration, is one of the most remarkable national transformations in all of history. But how does it happen?

In this episode, Dan discusses the first part of the story. We’ll start out with the Tokugawa Shogunate and its policy of Sakoku – isolation. Then we’ll talk about the Japanese experience in the 19th century, and how American Commodore Matthew Perry’s expedition changes Japan, and the world, forever.

Dan’s new interview with Ben from The History Voyager: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4EVcbeJhWQtnlp36jJI2L4

SUBSCRIBE TO RELEVANT HISTORY, AND NEVER MISS AN EPISODE!

Relevant History Patreon: https://bit.ly/3vLeSpF

Subscribe on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/38bzOvo

Subscribe on Apple Music (iTunes): https://apple.co/2SQnw4q

Subscribe on Google Music: https://bit.ly/30hUTRD

RSS feed: https://bit.ly/2R0Iosz

Relevant History on Twitter: https://bit.ly/3eRhdtk

Relevant History on Facebook: https://bit.ly/2Qk05mm

Relevant History SubscribeStar: https://www.subscribestar.com/relevant-history

Official website: https://bit.ly/3btvha4

Episode transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vQ_LZO-uyQSprOn-mKgPzYoULDrTkU0-ahVlGzkRqVEs8xTEHOv_mvZnrNelvy_Bq2EpIioDwlodo0g/pub

Music credit: Sergey Cheremisinov - Black Swan