What was the Japanese reaction to the arrival of foreigners with much more modern technology?
The leadership of Japan had long tried to close it off from the world. The last Shoguns tried to continue this but other, mostly young supporters of the Emperor, felt that Japan could learn from the West and is so doing become its equal. This resulted in the Meiji Restoration or Revolution. What exactly was the Meiji Restoration? The term refers to both the events of 1868 that led to the “restoration” of power to the emperor and the entire period of revolutionary changes that coincided with the emperor’s reign (1868–1912). The Tokugawa family had controlled the shogunate, from 1603 to 1867. The Shogun was the title of the feudal military administrator from the 12th to the 19th century in Japan. However, by the mid-19th century, weakened by debt and internal division, the Tokugawa shogunate had declined, and much internal opposition had already manifested itself. However, the intrusion of Western powers, particularly the Americans, under Commodore Matthew C. Perry, precipitated further
