Opening the country - Kaikoku

Japanese: 開国 - かいこく

At the end of the Edo period, pressure from the Western powers led to the repeal of Japan's isolationist system and the opening up of diplomacy and trade. By opening up, Japan was incorporated into the capitalist global market as a subordinate entity, and this brought about rapid changes in all aspects of politics, society, economy, and culture, facilitating the dissolution of the feudal domain system and becoming a decisive condition for the Meiji Restoration and subsequent modernization.

[Tetsu Nakamura]

The world in which Japan is part

The formation of the world market began in the 16th century, and progressed from the mercantilist stage in the 16th to 18th centuries to the liberal stage through the Industrial Revolution in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, with the first global depression occurring in 1857 (Ansei 4). East Asia, the region furthest from the West and a pre-modern but unified state that maintained a policy of national isolation and prevented Western powers from invading for many years, was incorporated into the world market after the Opium Wars, when Qing (China) opened up to the world through the Treaty of Nanking in 1842 and Japan opened up to the world through the Ansei Treaty in 1858, and geographically the world market came to cover almost the entire globe by the 1850s.

At that time, the center of the world market was Great Britain, which established factory industry not only for consumer goods but also for production goods, and established its position as the "world's factory." Other Western countries, such as France, Germany, and the United States, were influenced by British capitalism, and while they were economically dependent on it, industrial capital was established and independent national economies were formed. However, non-Western regions, such as Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Oceania, were incorporated as subordinate markets to Western capitalism. This incorporation of underdeveloped regions into the world market in the mid-19th century was qualitatively different from the trade relations of pre-modern times. Traditional production relations were destroyed and economic structures were reconstructed as subordinate to Western capitalism, with the destruction of indigenous industries due to the influx of goods based on overwhelming productivity differences, the formation of a relative surplus population, the development of agricultural exports of raw materials and food to Great Britain and other countries, and the formation of a parasitic landlord system that exploited high rents in kind based on surplus population. By the mid-19th century, capitalism had begun to transform the internal economies of underdeveloped regions on a global scale. The regions that were forcibly incorporated into the bottom of world capitalism can be broadly divided into three types. The first type were the white British colonies (Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Cape Colony, etc.). The second type were countries that maintained their political independence but were forced to sign unequal treaties with free trade provisions at their core, including agreed tax rates and extraterritoriality, making them politically and economically subordinate. Examples of these are Persia, Turkey, Siam, Qing (China), and Japan. The third type were colonies of foreign nations to the West, which constituted the bottom of world capitalism in that they were deprived of their political and economic independence and were completely subordinate to their mother countries. Many regions in Asia and Africa fell into colonies from the late 19th century to the early 20th century, and India was a typical example in the mid-19th century.

[Tetsu Nakamura]

Perry's Arrival and the Opening of Japan

It was Great Britain that led the great powers' invasion of Asia, but in the mid-19th century, while Britain was preoccupied with the Crimean War, wars with India and China, and suppressing popular rebellions, the United States of America took the opportunity to open up Japan. The United States had an intention to open a trans-Pacific route to compete with Britain in the developing trade with China, and wanted Japan to be a port of call. At the time, the American whaling industry was at its height, and the number of whaling ships venturing out to the North Pacific was increasing, so the United States wanted to protect the crew of ships in distress that drifted ashore in Japan, and wanted Japan to be a refuge and supply port. For these reasons, the United States had a stronger interest in Japan than the other great powers.

Commodore Perry, the American ambassador to Japan and commander of the China-Japan detachment fleet, led four warships and entered the waters off Uraga on July 8, 1853 (June 3, 6th year of the Kaei era). The news of the arrival of the Black Ships shocked the whole of Japan, but Perry had the Shogunate accept the President's letter and returned to China. In February of the following year (January 1st in the lunar calendar), he returned with seven warships and, backed by military force, urged the US to open its borders, eventually concluding the Treaty of Peace and Amity between the US and Japan (Kanagawa Treaty) in March. This treaty provided for the supply of scarce goods in Shimoda and Hakodate, protection for shipwrecked sailors and immigrants, most-favored-nation treatment, and the presence of a consular officer, but did not include a commerce clause. Based on this treaty, Harris took up his post as Consul General in August 1856 (July 1856), and against the backdrop of Britain and France's invasion of China in the Second Opium War and China's defeat, he negotiated a trade treaty with the shogunate, and the Treaty of Amity and Commerce between the United States and Japan was signed in July 1858 (June in the lunar calendar). The following August (July in the lunar calendar), treaties based on the US-Japan Treaty were signed with the Netherlands, Russia, and Britain, and in October (September in the lunar calendar), with France (the Ansei Five-Nation Treaties).

[Tetsu Nakamura]

Contents of the Unequal Treaties

The Ansei Treaty was one of the unequal treaties imposed by the Western powers on developing countries at the time, with free trade provisions at its core, unilateral consular jurisdiction (effectively extraterritoriality), customs rates, and the most-favored-nation clause as its main provisions. It was essentially the same as the Tianjin Treaty, which was signed in June 1858 and served as the model for the Ansei Treaty. However, there were some important differences. The tariff rates for both exports and imports were specific taxes based on 5% of the cost price in the Tianjin Treaty, but were ad valorem taxes in the Japan-US Treaty, with export taxes at 5% and import taxes at 5%, 20%, and 35%, with the majority of products at 20%. However, the tax reform agreement (Edo Treaty) of 1866 (Keio 2) lowered the rate to 5%, the same as China. Secondly, the Tianjin Treaty recognized the right of foreigners to trade within the country, but the Ansei Treaty limited it to open cities and ports, which played a certain role in preventing foreign economic invasion. Thirdly, the Treaty of Tianjin contained clauses that could easily invite interference in the domestic affairs of the great powers, such as the obligation of the Chinese government to protect Christians and the permission of foreign warships to freely enter Chinese ports to suppress piracy within Chinese territorial waters, but the Ansei Treaty contained no such clauses. The Ansei Treaty was a typical unequal treaty, but its subordinate nature was weaker than that of the Tianjin Treaty. This character of the treaty, combined with domestic conditions, led to unique domestic reforms (the Meiji Restoration) and became one of the conditions for the formation of an independent capitalism.

[Tetsu Nakamura]

The development of trade and its impact

Based on the Ansei Treaties, free trade was started in the three ports of Yokohama (Kanagawa), Nagasaki, and Hakodate in July 1859 (June 6th year of the Ansei era). The first impact was a rapid outflow of gold coins and an inflow of Western silver. The Ansei Treaties' provision on the exchange of the same kind and amount of domestic and foreign currencies was applied to Western silver (Mexican dollar), which was the international currency in East Asia, and the ichibu silver coin, which was a subsidiary currency of gold coins in Japan, and this caused a huge disparity between the international gold and silver ratio and the domestic gold and silver ratio. In order to deal with this situation, the shogunate government mis-minted gold coins in 1860, which caused rapid inflation, intensifying the poverty of the finances of the shogunate and its domains and their vassals, and accelerating the dissolution of the shogunate-domain system of domination. As the gold and silver ratio was standardized internationally, trade rapidly increased, from $890,000 in exports and $600,000 in imports in 1859 to $18.49 million in exports and $15.14 million in imports in 1865. In terms of exports, raw silk was overwhelmingly the largest, followed by tea, with these two accounting for the majority of exports. In terms of imports, cotton products were first and wool products second, with the import of weapons and ships increasing during the turbulent period of the Meiji Restoration at the end of the Edo period. Britain was by far the most important trading partner, followed by America, France, the Netherlands, Prussia, and others, and Japan was incorporated into the world market in a subordinate form, serving as a sales market for Western capitalist industrial products and a purchasing market for raw materials and food.

Trade was entirely monopolized by foreign merchants, and transactions were conducted at foreign trading posts in foreign settlements set up in the open ports and cities. The settlements were self-governing for foreigners, and linked to consular jurisdiction, they were essentially internal colonies in which judicial, administrative, and police powers were held by foreigners, so commercial transactions were disadvantageous to Japanese merchants. The foreign trade monopoly system was strong due to the disparity between Japanese merchants in terms of capital, monopoly on overseas market knowledge, convenience of shipping, marine insurance, and foreign exchange, as well as the unequal treaties. Foreign merchants also advanced into domestic distribution by controlling advances to Japanese sales merchants, and set up tea reprocessing factories in the settlements, and advanced into production areas such as shipbuilding and coal mine management. The domestic economy developed rapidly as sericulture, silk reeling, and tea manufacturing became export industries, but at the same time, the destruction and decline of commodity production, including cotton, was overwhelmed by imported goods, and this, along with the effects of rapid inflation, promoted original accumulation.

[Tetsu Nakamura]

Sonno Joi Movement

When Perry arrived, the shogunate's control over the feudal domains had already weakened, so it was unable to deal with the situation on its own and instead sought the opinions of the various domains and the shogunate officials. This was unusual, and instead opened the way for criticism of the shogunate. Furthermore, when the shogunate tried to get approval for the treaty to be signed by the emperor in order to bolster the shogunate's faltering power, the powerful feudal domains and the lower-ranking samurai who supported the Sonnō-jō (revere the expulsion of all men from the shogunate) faction campaigned to block the imperial sanction. This was compounded by conflicts over reforms to the shogunate government and the issue of the shogun's succession, and fierce political strife unfolded. Ii Naosuke, a conservative who wanted to maintain the shogunate's autocratic rule, was appointed chief advisor, and he forced the signing of the treaty without obtaining imperial sanction and oppressed those opposed (the Ansei Purge). As a result, the Sonno Joi movement spread nationwide and became more radical, and in March 1860 (Man'en 1), Mito roshi assassinated Ii (the Sakuradamon Incident).

Originally, the idea of revering the Emperor and expelling the barbarians was not opposed to the shogunate system, but in reality the Sonno Joi movement became a weapon of criticism of the shogunate government, and against the backdrop of the growing sentiment of rebellion against feudal rule among the people, it developed into an intense movement to overturn the status quo. Furthermore, as unequal treaties were concluded under pressure from the Western powers, and the influence of trade and inflation spread rapidly throughout the country, the movement took on a nationalistic character that demanded national unification in the face of this national crisis, and became the parent organization of the anti-shogunate faction.

[Tetsu Nakamura]

"Ishii Takashi, 'The International Environment of the Meiji Restoration' (1966, Yoshikawa Kobunkan)" ▽ "Ishii Takashi, 'The History of the Opening of Japan' (1972, Yoshikawa Kobunkan)" ▽ "Nakamura Tetsu, 'Global Capitalism and the Meiji Restoration' (1978, Aoki Shoten)" ▽ "Shibahara Takuji, 'Japan's Position in World History' (1981, Iwanami Shoten)" ▽ "Hamaya Masaaki, 'A Cross-section of Japanese Diplomatic History in the Opening Period' (1993, Kobundo Publishing)" ▽ Matsumoto Kenichi, 'Modern Japan 1: Opening of the Country and the Restoration' (1998, Chuokoron-Shinsha)" ▽ "Inoue Isao (ed.), 'Japan's Historical History 20: Opening of the Country and the Turmoil of the Late Edo Period' (2004, Yoshikawa Kobunkan)"

Utagawa Sadahide's "Map of the Newly Opened Port of Yokohama along the Kanna River"
Yokohama shopping district in 1860 (Man'en 1), the year after the port opened. The Mitsui store is in the foreground on the left, and the customs office was located in Honmachi 5-chome behind it. Triptych, owned by the National Diet Library .

Utagawa Sadahide's "Map of the Newly Opened Port of Yokohama along the Kanna River"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

Japanese:

幕末、欧米列強の圧力により日本の鎖国制度が否定され、外交、貿易が開かれたこと。日本は開国によって資本主義的世界市場に従属的に組み込まれ、その影響は政治、社会、経済、文化のあらゆる面に急激な変化を引き起こし、幕藩体制の解体を促進して、明治維新とその後の近代化の決定的条件となった。

［中村　哲］

日本が組み入れられた世界

16世紀に始まる世界市場の形成は、16～18世紀の重商主義段階から18世紀末～19世紀前期の産業革命を経て自由主義段階に達し、1857年（安政4）に最初の世界恐慌が発生する。また、欧米からもっとも離れ、前近代的ではあるが統一国家のもとで鎖国政策が行われ、欧米勢力の侵入を長年にわたり阻んできた東アジアが、アヘン戦争を経て1842年の南京(ナンキン)条約による清(しん)（中国）の開国、58年の安政(あんせい)条約による日本の開国によって世界市場に組み入れられ、地理的にも世界市場がほぼ地球上を覆い尽くすのが1850年代である。

　当時の世界市場の中心はイギリスであり、消費財のみでなく生産財においても工場制工業が確立し、「世界の工場」としての地位を確立していた。他の欧米諸国――フランス、ドイツ、アメリカなどは、イギリス資本主義に影響を受け、それに経済的に依存しつつも産業資本が確立し、いちおう自立的な国民経済が成立する。しかし、非欧米地域――アジア、アフリカ、ラテンアメリカ、オセアニアは、欧米資本主義の従属的市場として組み入れられてゆく。この19世紀中期における後進地域の世界市場への編入は、前近代における貿易関係とは質的に異なっていた。圧倒的な生産力格差に基づいた商品の大量流入による在来産業の破壊、相対的過剰人口の形成、イギリスなどへの原料・食糧などの農産物輸出の発達、過剰人口を基礎とする高額現物地代を搾取する寄生的な地主制の形成など、旧来の伝統的生産関係が破壊され、欧米資本主義に従属する経済構造につくりかえられていった。19世紀中期に至って、資本主義は世界的規模で後進地域の内部経済を変革し始めたのである。この世界資本主義の底辺に強制的に組み入れられた地域は、さらに三つの類型に大別できる。第一はイギリスの白人植民地（カナダ、オーストラリア、ニュージーランド、ケープ植民地など）であり、第二は政治的独立はいちおう維持されたが、自由貿易規定を中核とし、協定税率、治外法権などを含む不平等条約を強制され、政治的、経済的に従属させられた諸国であり、ペルシア、トルコ、シャム、清（中国）、日本などがこれにあたる。第三は欧米にとっての異民族植民地であり、政治的、経済的自立性を奪われ、本国に完全に従属させられた点で世界資本主義の最底辺を構成する。19世紀後半～20世紀初頭にアジア、アフリカの多くの地域が植民地に転落してゆくが、19世紀中期においてはインドがその典型である。

［中村　哲］

ペリー来航と日本の開国

列強のアジア侵略を主導したのはイギリスであるが、19世紀中期にはクリミア戦争やインド、中国との戦争・民衆反乱鎮圧などに忙殺されていた間隙(かんげき)を縫って、日本の開国はアメリカ合衆国によって行われた。アメリカは、発展しつつある中国貿易においてイギリスに対抗するため、太平洋横断航路を開く意図をもち、その寄港地を日本に求めたこと、当時アメリカの捕鯨業が全盛期にあり、北太平洋に出漁する捕鯨船が増加し、日本に漂着する遭難船の乗組員の保護や、日本に避泊・補給港を求めたことなどによって、日本への関心が他の列強よりも強かったのである。

　アメリカの遣日特派大使兼中国・日本分遣艦隊司令官ペリーは、4隻の軍艦を率いて1853年7月8日（嘉永(かえい)6年6月3日）浦賀沖に侵入した。黒船渡来の報は日本全国を震撼(しんかん)させたが、ペリーは大統領の国書を幕府に受理させて、いったん中国に引き揚げた。翌54年2月（旧暦1月）7隻の軍艦を率いて再度来航し、武力を背景に強硬に開国を迫り、ついに3月、日米和親条約（神奈川条約）が結ばれた。この条約は、下田(しもだ)・箱館(はこだて)での欠乏品供給、遭難海員・渡来民の保護、最恵国(さいけいこく)待遇、領事駐在などを規定し、通商条項は含んでいなかった。この条約に基づいて56年8月（安政3年7月）総領事として着任したハリスは、第二次アヘン戦争によるイギリス・フランスの中国侵略、中国の敗北を背景に、幕府と通商条約交渉を行い、58年7月（旧暦6月）日米修好通商条約が調印された。翌8月（旧暦7月）にはオランダ、ロシア、イギリス、10月（旧暦9月）にフランスと、相次いで、日米条約を原型とする条約が調印された（安政五か国条約）。

［中村　哲］

不平等条約の内容

安政条約は自由貿易規定を中核とし、片務的な領事裁判権（実質的な治外法権）、協定税率、最恵国条項を主要な内容とし、当時欧米列強が後進諸国に押し付けた不平等条約の一つである。とくに1858年6月に調印され安政条約のモデルになった天津(てんしん)条約とは基本的に同じ内容である。しかしいくつかの重要な相違点もある。関税率は、天津条約では輸出入とも原価の5％を基準とする従量税であるが、日米条約では従価税で、輸出税は5％、輸入税は5％、20％、35％の3段階に分かれ、大多数の商品は20％であった。しかし、1866年（慶応2）の改税約書（江戸協約）によって中国と同一の5％に引き下げられた。第二に、天津条約では外国人の国内通商権が認められたが、安政条約では開市開港場に限定され、外国の経済的侵略を防ぐうえで一定の役割を果たした。第三に、天津条約では、中国政府がキリスト教保護の義務を負い、中国領海内の海賊鎮圧のため外国軍艦が中国の港に自由に入港することを認めるなどの列強の内政干渉を招きやすい条項があるが、安政条約にはそうした条項はない。安政条約は典型的な不平等条約であるが、天津条約と比べるとその従属性は弱かったといえる。こうした条約の性格が、国内条件と結び付いて独自の国内変革（明治維新）を行い、自立的な資本主義を形成する一つの条件となったのである。

［中村　哲］

貿易の発展とその影響

安政条約に基づいて1859年7月（安政6年6月）から横浜（神奈川）、長崎、箱館の3港で自由貿易が開始されたが、その最初の影響は猛烈な金貨流出と洋銀流入であった。安政条約の内外通貨の同種同量交換規定が、東アジアにおける国際通貨であった洋銀＝メキシコ・ドルと、国内において金貨の補助貨であった一分銀との間に適用されたため、国際金銀比価と国内金銀比価の格差がきわめて大きくなったことが原因であった。幕府はこの事態に対処するため1860年に金貨悪鋳を行ったため急激なインフレーションを引き起こし、幕府・藩財政や家臣団の窮乏を激化させて幕藩支配体制の解体が促進される結果を招いた。金銀比価の国際的平準化とともに貿易が急速に伸び、1859年の輸出89万ドル、輸入60万ドルから、1865年に輸出1849万ドル、輸入1514万ドルとなった。輸出では生糸が圧倒的で、茶が第2位、両者で大部分を占めた。輸入では綿製品が第1位、羊毛製品が第2位であり、ほかに幕末維新の動乱期に武器、艦船の輸入が増加した。取引相手国はイギリスが圧倒的に優位で、アメリカ、フランス、オランダ、プロシアなどであり、日本は、欧米資本主義の工業製品の販売市場、原料・食糧の購買市場という従属的な形で世界市場に組み入れられた。

　貿易は完全に外国商人の独占であり、取引は開市開港場に設けられた外国人居留地内の外国商館で行われた。居留地は外国人の自治が行われ、領事裁判権と結び付いて実質的に司法・行政・警察権を外国に握られた国内植民地であり、商取引は日本人商人に不利であった。貿易の外商独占体制は、資本力、海外市場知識の独占、海運、海上保険、外国為替(かわせ)の便などの点での日本人商人との格差に加え、不平等条約に支えられて強力であった。外商はさらに日本人売込み商への前貸し支配によって国内流通にも進出し、居留地内に茶再製工場を設け、造船、炭坑経営など生産面への進出もみられた。国内経済は養蚕・製糸業、製茶業などが輸出産業化して急速に発展した反面、輸入品に圧倒されて綿業をはじめとする商品生産の破壊・衰退が進み、急激なインフレーションの影響とともに本源的蓄積を推進した。

［中村　哲］

尊王攘夷運動

ペリー来航に際して、当時すでに幕府は諸藩統制力が弱まっていたので、独力で対処できず、諸藩、幕吏の意見を徴した。これは異例のことであり、かえって幕政批判の道を開くことになった。さらに通商条約の調印に際しては、揺らぎつつある幕権を補強するため幕府は条約の承認を天皇から得ようとし、これに対して雄藩勢力や下級武士尊攘(そんじょう)派は勅許を阻止しようと運動した。これに、幕政改革をめぐる対立、将軍継嗣(けいし)問題をめぐる対立が加わり、激しい政争が展開されたが、幕府専制を維持しようとする保守派から井伊直弼(いいなおすけ)が大老(たいろう)に就任し、勅許を得られぬまま条約調印を強行し、反対派を弾圧した（安政の大獄）。その結果、かえって尊王攘夷運動は全国的に拡大するとともに急進化し、1860年（万延1）3月、水戸浪士らは井伊を暗殺した（桜田門外の変）。

　本来、尊王攘夷思想は幕藩体制と対立するものではなかったが、現実の尊王攘夷運動は幕政批判の武器となり、高まりつつある民衆の封建支配に対する反抗の気運を背景として、激しい現状打破運動として展開した。また、欧米列強の圧力で不平等条約が結ばれ、貿易の影響とインフレーションが急速に全国的に広がるにつれて、そうした民族的危機に対して国家統一を要求する民族主義的性格をも帯び、倒幕派の母体ともなったのである。

［中村　哲］

『石井孝著『増訂　明治維新の国際的環境』（1966・吉川弘文館）』▽『石井孝著『日本開国史』（1972・吉川弘文館）』▽『中村哲著『世界資本主義と明治維新』（1978・青木書店）』▽『芝原拓自著『日本近代化の世界史的位置』（1981・岩波書店）』▽『浜屋雅軌著『開国期日本外交史の断面』（1993・高文堂出版社）』▽『松本健一著『日本の近代1　開国・維新』（1998・中央公論社）』▽『井上勲編『日本の時代史20　開国と幕末の動乱』（2004・吉川弘文館）』