JAPAN’S RESPONSE TO WESTERN PENETRATION IN THE MID-NINETEENTH CENTURY

Abstract

When it comes to Japan in the mid-nineteenth century, perhaps the fact that Japan “opened its door” to the West is the most noticeable event. The reason is not only because it was a turning point which affected other development stages afterwards but also because “opening door” itself had a profound historical influence in that it partly reflected the development trend of Eastern countries at that time in the face of intense pressure from the penetration of Western countries.

From the in-depth analysis of the historical context attributing to the process of the open door policy of Japan to the West in the mid-nineteenth century, this paper provides the "practical basis" and "inevitability" of this policy which later led to the Meiji restoration in Japan. In fact, this policy then was “a driving force” which resulted in the impressive development of Japan beyond its continent, making Japan the first capitalist country in Asia.

This prompts the question: how did other Asian countries react to the Western penetration and did they manage to turn the "external opportunity” into “a driving force” like Japan? This paper aims to seek the answer to that question from a comparative perspective by clarifying the response of other Asian countries to the west. At the same time, this paper takes Vietnam as an example to compare with Japan. This comparison helps to give a multi-dimensional, objective evaluation as well as valuable lessons learned from the past for countries in the process of absorbing external culture and civilization.