Japan och dess Innebyggare.

Title

Japan och dess Innebyggare.

Book describes on 182 pages Japan and its inhabitants with title page, index, 20 views (such as Sinagawa, Nagasaki, Torigasaki, Hakodadi, …) 6 pages with inhabitants of Japan and a folded map of Japan. Translated by Carl Wingstedt.

c. 1860

Artist

Huldbergs Bokhandel

Historical Description

The book describes a historically important period in Japan. In 1860, Japan was in a crucial transitional phase between its traditional feudal system and its opening to the Western world. Since the early 17th century, Japan had been largely isolated from foreign influence under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate (1603–1868)—a policy known as Sakoku ("closed country policy"). The emperor in Kyōto held little political power; the real center of authority was in Edo (modern-day Tokyo), where the shōgun ruled. Life in the country was shaped by the influence of the samurai, daimyōs (feudal lords), and strict social hierarchies.However, the situation changed dramatically in the 1850s. In 1853, American Commodore Matthew Perry arrived with a fleet of modern warships and forced Japan to open its ports to trade with the United States—an agreement formalized in the Treaty of Kanagawa (1854). This marked the beginning of a series of so-called unequal treaties with Western powers, which undermined Japan’s sovereignty. The opening of the country led to internal tensions: many samurai and lords criticized the shogunate's weakness in dealing with foreign powers. The slogan "Sonnō jōi" ("Revere the Emperor, expel the barbarians") gained popularity. These tensions soon culminated in the Meiji Restoration (from 1868), which saw the overthrow of the Tokugawa shogunate and the transformation of Japan into a modern nation-state.