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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 23 March 2011
One hundred years ago the patient efforts of Townsend Harris bore fruit and on July 4, 1859, Japan opened her doors to traders from the West. It was a small beginning, for Consul Harris' treaty allowed foreigners to live and trade at only three Japanese ports; two of which, Nagasaki and Hakodate, lacked the hinterland to make them much more than coaling or victualling stations. The third port was a small fishing village of twenty or thirty huts. It was built on a mud bank, backed by an odious swamp and commanded by surrounding hills. The Japanese called the place Yokohama.
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