The Crimean War in Japan : the Awareness of a Structural Vulnerability (1853-1856)

Résumé 0

‪Since the end of the 18‪‪th‪‪ century, Japan had been an isolationist country coping with the increased in foreign ships entering its territorial waters. But the Crimean War and its Asian extensions represented a new challenge for the archipelago: the British, French, and Russian belligerents were engaged in military operations and manoeuvres next to Japan’s coasts and needed Japanese ports to supply their fleets. Based on an analysis of the information tools and channels available to the central government, this article studies the Bakufu’s reactions to the demands stemming from both sides, which led to the signing of the first Anglo-Japanese and Russo-Japanese conventions in 1854-1855. It also shows how Japan had to cope with an international conflict next to its borders and examines the contribution of these two conventions to Japan’s inclusion into the international order shaped by the West.‪