Japan in the Mid-19th Century

Japan, 1853-1912

In this course Dr Andrew Cobbing (University of Nottingham) explores Japan in the 19th century. We begin by thinking about what Japan was like under the Tokugawa shogunate, focusing in particular on the main social, economic and cultural developments from the early 17th century. In the second module, we think about Western intervention in Japan – why did the Tokugawa regime collapse so quickly after the arrival of Commodore Matthew Perry in 1853? In the following four modules, we look in turn at four key themes in the history of later 19th-century Japan: nationalism, modernisation, foreign policy and imperialism.

Japan in the Mid-19th Century

In this module we think about what Japan was like in the mid-19th century, focusing in particular on the social, economic and cultural developments that had taken place during the Tokugawa shogunate.