Status
Available
Call number
Publication
Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books
Pages
144
Description
Details Commodore Matthew Perry's role in opening Japan's closed society to world trade in the 1850s, one of history's most significant diplomatic achievements.
Description
In 1853, few Japanese people knew that a country called America even existed.
For centuries, Japan had isolated itself from the outside world by refusing to trade with other countries and even refusing to help shipwrecked sailors, foreign or Japanese. The country's people still lived under a feudal system like that of Europe in the Middle Ages. But everything began to change when American Commodore Perry and his troops sailed to the Land of the Rising Sun, bringing with them new science and technology, and a new way of life.
Inscribed by author on page preceding title page.
For centuries, Japan had isolated itself from the outside world by refusing to trade with other countries and even refusing to help shipwrecked sailors, foreign or Japanese. The country's people still lived under a feudal system like that of Europe in the Middle Ages. But everything began to change when American Commodore Perry and his troops sailed to the Land of the Rising Sun, bringing with them new science and technology, and a new way of life.
Inscribed by author on page preceding title page.
Collection
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1985
Physical description
144 p.; 11.2 inches
ISBN
9780688037239
Similar in this library
Lexile
1070L
User reviews
LibraryThing member mmaher8
This book has won the Newbery Honor award. This is definitely a book for more advanced readers so I would say 5th grade and up. There are a lot of pages in this book and the content of the book is too mature for any graders younger then 5th. This story is about Commodore Perry and his voyage to
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Japan. It explains why the United States sent Matthew Perry to Japan, opening trade ports and whaling, while giving the view of not only the Americans but the Japanese as well. This book tells both sides of the trade and it also includes some interesting Japanese drawings. Some of the main issues are different cultures, trading amongst countries and how to compromise. The students reading this book would read it over an extended period of time when we are learning about history and they can keep a journal for every chapter they read. so once they finish a chapter they can write a brief summary on it. This book is a great source for explaining why we decided to trade with Japan. Show Less
LibraryThing member matthew254
Commodore Perry in the Land of the Shogun is a concise account of the forced opening of Japan to the Western world in 1854. The event marked a powerful and dangerous precedent that Japan itself would later use to its own advantage on neighboring Korea. Commodore Perry was not the first U.S. Naval
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officer to bring warships in hopes of establishing trade with Japan, but he was the first successful one employing a sort of "gunboat diplomacy"; a deadly mixture of stubbornness and the firepower to enforce an open-door policy with America. In truth, Japan had already been mingling on a limited scale with the Dutch but had also retained a rather nasty international reputation for its treatment of shipwrecked Americans. Therefore, in addition to insisting on opening a trading port to supply merchant and whaling operations in the Pacific, one of the many points of the Treaty of Kanagawa included ceasing an open hostile policy towards shipwrecked sailors. The radical diplomatic changes that Perry was able to enact coincided with the gradual decline of the shogunate and the young Japanese emperor's eventual sweeping reforms now known as the Meiji Restoration. The book abruptly ends on this note. Although the author's target audience is the young adult crowd, it's a sufficient account of the Commodore's expedition. Short, sweet and recommended. Show Less
LibraryThing member janillabean
The use of original drawings from both Americans and Japanese who were present add so much. They help convey the setting and attitudes of each side.
LibraryThing member RalphLagana
I was pleasantly surprised with this book. I wasn't expecting to enjoy it so much. The book is relatively quick as a reading experience and presents well -without endless details, names, and dates- the efforts of Perry and his men to form a treaty with the Japanese people during a time of extreme
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isolationism. The manner in which the two sides keep each other at length and also cross over to learn about one another is entertaining. Show Less
LibraryThing member electrascaife
A fairly dry and more-than-fairly racially dated account of Perry's interactions with the Japanese. For kids. Really not sure how this won a Newbery Honor. Yoicks.
Subjects
Awards
Boston Globe–Horn Book Award (Winner — Nonfiction — 1985)
Charlie May Simon Children's Book Award (Nominee — 1988)
Cardinal Cup (Noteworthy — 1986)
Newbery Medal (Honor Book — 1986)
Call number
SOC H.300 J