Hello, the episode you're about to listen to is part of a multi-part series introducing an overview

of Japanese history.

This is a repeat of one of the original projects the History of Japan podcast was built on,

and is intended to serve as an update and supplement to these original works.

After 10 years, my hope is to return to this approach and to do it a little bit better,

given the skills that I have improved in the intervening years.

If you haven't been doing so already, you should listen to these episodes sequentially,

starting with episode 501.

Without any further ado, enjoy the episode.

Hello and welcome to the History of Japan podcast, episode 530, Bakumatsu part three.

I imagine that if you plucked a random member of the Tokugawa Bakfu out of Eddo Castle on the Lunar New Year of 1865,

he'd probably say, well, he'd probably be pretty confused about what was happening and also would not speak great English at best. So, honestly, the conversation would be a bit tense.

But assuming that none of that was an issue, our random member of the Bakfu, take, for example,

Tokugawa Yoshinobu, one of the many relatives of the Shogun floating about the halls of power,

and someone will return to in a bit.

Well, he'd probably be pretty happy.

Sure, not everything was great.

The unequal treaties were still an issue, and in particular

tensions were riding high about the promise to open Hjogo to foreign trade as a treaty port,

which had been supposed to happen in 1863, but which had been repeatedly delayed because of

objections from the imperial court about allowing a foreign presence that close to Kyoto.

So, no, things weren't perfect, but on balance, they could be a lot worse.

...