Breaking Open Japan: Commodore Perry, Lord Abe, and American Imperialism in 1853

by George Feifer

On July 14, 1853, the four warships of America's East Asia Squadron made for Kurihama, 30 miles south of the Japanese capital, then called Edo. It had come to pry open Japan after her two and a half centuries of isolation and nearly a decade of intense planning by Matthew Perry, the squadron commander. The spoils of the recent Mexican Spanish–American War had whetted a powerful American appetite for using her soaring wealth and power for commercial and political advantage. Perry's cloaking of imperial impulse in humanitarian purpose was fully matched by Japanese self–deception. High among the country's articles of faith was certainty of its protection by heavenly power. A distinguished Japanese scholar argued in 1811 that "Japanese differ completely from and are superior to the peoples of...all other countries of the world." So began one of history's greatest political and cultural clashes. In Breaking Open Japan , George Feifer makes this drama new and relevant for today. At its heart were two formidable Perry and Lord Masahiro Abe, the political mastermind and real authority behind the Emperor and the Shogun. Feifer gives us a fascinating account of "sealed off" Japan and shows that Perry's aggressive handling of his mission had far reaching consequences for Japan – and the United States – well into the twentieth if not twenty–first century.

Genres: History, Japan, Nonfiction, Asia, Japanese History, American History

416 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

George Feifer was a journalist and author who wrote about the Soviet Union.

Reviews

[Annie]

Too badly written to continue. I don't need to be annoyed for three hundred pages.

[Louise · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fascinating story and the author presents substantive research. There is some good prose in parts, such as the character development of Commodore Perry and descriptions of Okinawa, but on the whole it is not a smooth read. The 4 stars I'm giving it are for its importance as a contribution to our understanding of this period, the author's discussion on the impact of the attitude with which Perry's mission was accomplished, and the research that has been brought together.

Had there not been such good material and insight, the text was so choppy that I would have not finished the book. The dangling ideas, that is, concepts introduced but not previously explained or later followed up on, were frustrating. Then there are a lot of tortured sentences and then some grammar that had to be ignored to get the meaning.

One example of a dangling idea was the paragraph that ended by saying that Abe Mashihiro had won an important victory in the appointment of his recommended defense advisor followed by a paragraph saying that the appointee was "his (Abe's) the most vocal critic." What did I miss? By this time in the book, I no longer flipped back. The concept of a victory for Abe getting a critic an influential position isn't ever clear. It could be that the author meant it in the wider context that through this appointment there was no war, but that isn't clear either.

An example of the tortured prose, on p. 190 regarding Perry's son in law and grandson:

"New York's high society made him "King of Fifth Avenue". (New York Belmont Race Track and the Belmont Stakes are named after him, while in Newport, Rhode Island one of the sumptuous "cottages" was built by Oliver Hazard Perry Belmont, the son of "King" and Perry's daughter, together with Alva Vanderbilt previously married to William K. Vanderbilt)".

A grammar example (while you know it's Abe, there are two antecedents for him, not one) is on p. 243 "More than ever, Abe and the roju made the important decisions; with the senior counselors increasinly deferring to him about those concerning Perry..."

While the text was a real drawback (for me), there is a lot of food for thought in the analysis of what it Perry's actions meant for US-Japanese relations for the next 100 years, the unequal treaties, the symbolism of the USS Missouri receiving the Japanese surrender in Uraga Bay and the comparison of China's attitude and policies toward western trade and intervention.

For general readers interested in the seclusion period I recommend Samurai William: The Englishman Who Opened Japan (on whom the novel and TV series Shōgun) and Native American in the Land of the Shogun: Ranald MacDonald and the Opening of Japan.

[Tim Needham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this book while in quarantine in Tokyo back in 2022. Picked this book up while visiting America. It’s a very thorough book. However, very insightful. Highly recommend if you’re into Japanese/American history.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good. I had a much more nuanced review in my head but forgot to write it down in anything like a timely manner afyer I read it.

[Daryl Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great read in learning about Japan and how they tried to protect their closed society. How Commodore Perry forced the opening

[Nares Damrongchai · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thorough story and thoughtful analysis.

[Ess Atoms · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great content and interesting segments but writing is inconsistent and sometimes difficult. I found myself losing interest throughout pages 150-230ish but pushed through out of curiosity

[Alison · Rating 1 out of 5]

I found this book in a small hotel at the foot of Mt. Fuji. I was in the right mind-set for it, but unfortunately, it was extremely boring and dull. The first and last chapters were captivating and fascinating for putting history in perspective, but the vast majority of the middle was so slow that it took me ages to read it. I didn't want to give up on it because I was interested in a time of history that I had zero knowledge about, but chapters would go by with absolutely nothing pushing them forward. Did we really need a chapter about *how* they delivered a letter?

I found myself wanting to know more about Lord Abe. While his name is on the cover, I feel like there wasn't as much information on him as there was Commodore Perry. While I think Mr. Feifer did a decent job staying unbias with the Japanese and American sides of the story, it was much more heavily weighed on the American side.

This is a great time in history which is not widely known, but this book could have made this time period more lively with half the material inside.

****

What I took away from the book, education-wise: if the U.S. hadn't been so wrapped up in the impending American Civil War and the California Gold Rush, it is quite possible that more resources could have been sent to completely colonize and take over Japan.

Also -- without breaking open Japan, they would not have had the excuse to revolutionize and industrialize their own country to then punch back in 1941. Without Perry, Japan may have never attacked the US at Pearl Harbor. But, it seemed inevitable that one day, Japan and America would meet and have to make a treaty; it just may have been on more friendly and less hostile terms.

[Jonathan · Rating 2 out of 5]

In 1853, Japan was a country that had isolated itself from most of the outside world for several centuries. They had some trade with China. They even allowed a little bit of trade with the Dutch, at one port. That was all about to change. In 1853, the United States sent four warships to Japan. Under Commodore Perry's leadership, the Japanese were told to begin trading with the United States or face a possible invasion. Japan had heard about the recent Opium War, where a few British ships had devastated China, and they realized that trading with the United States was their best alternative.
While Commodore Perry is briefly mentioned in American history books, his opening of Japan greatly traumatized the Japanese psyche. In fact, most Japanese originally supported Pearl Harbor because they saw it as payback for almost a century of Western humiliation.
Overall, the concepts behind the U.S. breaking open of Japan are interesting, but the book was very slow in a lot of places. Often, it didn't do the best job of keeping my attention.

[J Moragoda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poignant account of this (in)famous encounter and event, which highlights the central role of the under-appreciated hero, Lord Abe, a moderate, who averted complete disaster for Japan. This book has so many insights. It is a fascinating exploration of cultural misunderstandings and misreadings, the arrogance of Perry, and the tragedy he put into motion which in many ways culminated in the militarization of Japan which led further to World War II. It recounts the power vacuum that led to intrigue and the struggle that was going on at the time in Japan due to the ailing emperor. Provides context for the subsequent Japanese drive to modernize during the Meiji period and the love-hate relationship with Western ideas. A lot of parallels can be drawn to events in modern times as pertains to western colonization and the consequent backlashes against the west due to this domination. A well-researched and absorbing read.

[Matthew · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was unable to finish this book. I did not like it very much. The author, although purporting to look at both sides of the issue, came across as decidedly anti-American. I would agree that colonization is bad, but I would also posit that foreign trade is good. The American dealings in Japan may have been heavy handed, but they certainly weren't the excesses of empire. Feifer himself admits that there were many in the Japanese government and other intellectual circles who resented the ban on foreign influence and saw the need for contact with the outside world. Not only had they anticipated the coming of Perry, they welcomed the chance to open up. Feifer's writing style also grated on me as I was constantly having to reread sentences, searching for antecedents and sifting through dependant clauses. All in all, I found this book very disappointing.

[Peter C Lyon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This could have been a much stronger book. I started reading it about a year and a half ago, but grew frustrated with sequencing issues -- and stopped reading about 1/3 through.

However, I pushed through this week, and I'm glad I finished. The chapters about the surrounding environment in Okinawa, China, and issues at stake in greater U.S. society intrigued me. Moreover, the evaluation of Japan's history post-Perry was fascinating as well.

At times, Feifer meanders, at a broader level in terms of event sequencing, and in a narrower scope of sentence structure as well. Perhaps better editing would have improved his narrative.

But, to those who are frustrated with the first few chapters, I would advise not to give up. The end is terrific.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story and one that us Americans skip over in history class completely. That said it was worth the time and effort for me because I was not familiar with this chapter in American history. My big complaint about this book was that there were far too many citations from other works and in the end it seemed like a school project (one that deserves an A+). The author lost a lot of authority thereby and the whole seemed less polished. I prefer books where the author convinces me (hopefully not on false pretenses) that he is an expert and has exerted over a decade of effort on his work.

[Sammy Duncan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The overall subject matter was well-known to me. Commodore Perry goes to Japan and the Japanese are forever grateful for being brought into the modern world - full stop! Turns out the Japanese people were quite happy without being forcibly "opened" to the modern world with one Japanese author even equating the opening with rape. To say the least, the book was very informative but it just never found a good pace and always seemed to be choppy. I am very happy to have the Japanese perspective on Commodore Perry's mission but it was a slow read.

[Trevor · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is very well researched and shines light on the events surrounding the Perry Expeditions and how they fundamentally shaped Japan for decades to come, while being only a footnote in American history. A friend of mine who has extensively studied Japan has read this book several times, and thoroughly enjoys it. For someone with less knowledge of Japanese history (such as myself) it is more difficult to develop a full appreciation for all of the details Feifer provides. It is a very informative read, but requires some dedication to make it to the end.

[Nils · Rating 3 out of 5]

A rather dry history text that nonetheless gives a good accounting of both sides of the confrontation between the U.S. and Japan. It also gave good context for Japan's sakoku (seclusion policy) and the slaughter of Christians in Japan previous to Perry's arrival. Who knew?

[Seth Isaacs · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent book which recounts Commodore Perry's landing in Japan and opening of the country to Western trade in 1853. Explores the events from both the American and Japanese perspective, and gives great insight into how this event still affects the Japanese people even today.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good look at historically how the opening of Japan's borders in 1853 went down and all the different factors and players in this huge historical moment for Japan.

[Jerry Schiff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the easiest read, but a story with fascinating parallels in more recent history, and providing valuable insight into both countries.

[Vaughn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the parts of the book which talked about Abe Masahiro in a more personal light.