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Journey into Japan: Tokugawa shogunate is overthrown

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Exterior Japanese temple
Journey into Japan: Tokugawa shogunate is overthrown

SUBJECTS:  History

YEARS:  7–8, 9–10


How did Japan's Tokugawa shogunate come to an end?

The entry of the US fleet into Tokyo Bay in 1853 and the events that followed exposed the shogunate's policy of isolation as a potential threat to the country.

Western influence, and Japan's response to it, would have an enormous impact on the country's future.

This clip is fourth in a series of six.


Things to think about

  1. 1.The Tokugawa clan had ruled Japan since 1600. How would the Japanese population regard the Tokugawa shogun when he was found to be powerless in resisting demands from Western imperialists? In the 1850s, Japan was forced to sign treaties allowing Americans to live and work in the country, and the Russians, British and French soon gained similar rights.
  2. 2.What was the attitude of the Shimazu clan to the shogun's government? Listen for examples of ways in which the Shimazu embraced Western influences and technology. Who supplied armaments to the Shimazu? When the Shimazu and their allies marched on Kyoto in 1867, why did the shogun give up his power without a fight?
  3. 3.When the emperor was installed in a castle in Tokyo (formerly Edo) the Tokugawa shogunate and the Edo period were over, and the emperor's power was formally restored. But with whom did the power really lie? What changes did they make to Japan's social class system?
  4. 4.What was the emperor's journey to Edo intended to signify to the Japanese people? Find appropriate sources to learn about the current Emperor of Japan and where he lives. What changes have occurred in the Japanese emperorship since the beginning of the Meiji Restoration in 1868?


Acknowledgements

Produced by ABC and Japan Foundation.


Date of broadcast: 5 Jul 1979


Copyright

Metadata © Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Education Services Australia Ltd 2012 (except where otherwise indicated). Digital content © Australian Broadcasting Corporation (except where otherwise indicated). Video © Australian Broadcasting Corporation (except where otherwise indicated). All images copyright their respective owners. Text © Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Education Services Australia is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0).

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