ABSTRACT
Within the course of an average lifetime, Japan was irrevocably transformed from an insular medieval oligarchy to a global powerhouse. This remarkable metamorphosis was instigated by the forced entry of an American naval expedition led by Commodore Matthew C. Perry into Uraga harbor, near Tokyo on July 8, 1853 and his subsequent landing at Yokosuka. The entry of the iron-hulled fleet of Commodore Matthew Perry into Uraga Harbor was extremely humiliating for the Japanese, and kurofune or "black ships" remains a loaded term, at once synonymous with foreign intervention, the end of isolation and the introduction of new technology. Resistance against advanced weaponry was futile however, and only lasted until September 24th, when Saigo Takamori died in a heroic last stand. There were a multitude of foreign experts in various fields who were invited to assist in national development, but Josiah Conder had the most extensive and lasting impact on the future of contemporary architecture in Japan.
