| The period 1858 to 1872 was a watershed in Japanese history. The 1858 Ansei "unequal treaties" marked the beginning of Japan's modern international relations, and its absorption into the Western international system in a subordinate position. This dissertation argues, however, that treaty relations were far from one-sided, as Japanese policymakers strove to preserve Japan's autonomy within the treaty structure and maintain Japan's territorial sovereignty. The Ansei Treaties, far from being sacrosanct legal agreements, were in reality actively contested, especially in the first fifteen years after their signing. This was the first stage of Japanese-Western treaty relations.; After an historiographical introduction, Chapter 1 traces the background to Japan's treaty relations, particularly in comparison with the Chinese experience, and discusses the making of the 1858 treaty. Chapter 2 treats the first half-decade after the signing of the treaties, 1858 to 1862; this period was the high tide of diplomatic accommodation and witnessed the emergence of a balance of interests between the two sides. Far from adopting a supine posture towards the West, the Tokugawa bakufu triumphed in matters such as the location of treaty ports and the timing of their opening. Chapter 3 explores international culture of the treaty ports, where seemingly concrete cultural boundaries were transgressed, leading to new understandings and deeper interaction between Japanese and Westerners. Chapter 4 turns to the years 1862--67, and traces the bakufu's defense of this balance of interests even in the face of the weakening of accommodation. Chapter 5 examines the Meiji experience of treaty relations 1868--72, and investigates the development, dispatch, and eventual failure of the Iwakura Mission. The conclusion briefly relates Japan's subsequent Asian policy, as it attempted to establish a Western-style international treaty system vis-a-vis China and Korea. This dissertation thus reassesses late-Tokugawa and early Meiji foreign policy, illustrates the malleability of both European and Asian cultural boundaries, and questions the extent of Western power at the zenith of Victorian imperialism. |
