Six Things You Should Know About Tokyo

ByRay Proper

History, Tokyo City, Tokyo Metropolis

Jul 09, 2013

Six Things You Should Know About Tokyo

You might be interested in this article from The History Channel in the US, “Six Things You Should Know About Tokyo.”  If you live in Tokyo  these might not come as a surprise, but then again… they may still.  You can read the introduction here, and click through to read the complete list at the History Channel’s website.

“On July 8, 1853, U.S. Commodore Matthew Perry led the U.S. Navy’s East India Squadron into Uraga Harbor in Edo (modern-day Tokyo), Japan, in what became the first step toward the “opening” of the Asian nation to western trade and influence after more than 250 years of “isolation” under the ruling Tokugawa shogunate.

The arrival of the Perry expedition and the U.S. Navy’s “black ships” led to a series of economic, political and social crises that brought tremendous upheaval to the country—followed by unprecedented growth—paving the way for the rise of modern Japan.

One hundred and sixty years after Matthew Perry’s arrival in Japan, here are some things you may not know about the nation’s capital.”

Six Things You Should Know About Tokyo — History in the Headlines.