101,885 (community total) + 80 (my reviews last 3 days) = 101965
About 279 years in: ~1842
Coming to the last couples of decades of the Edo period, public outcry against Shogunate rule was increasing. The political movement of restoring the emperors rule was growing, and the slogan 尊皇攘夷 (そんのうじょうい) “Revere the Emperor, expel the barbarians” was spreading. The ‘Barbarians’ being referred to here was the increasing contact with foreigners. Foreign warships and whalers were being sighted in Japanese waters, and some short unauthorized landings were even being made. The first major official contact with the US came in 1846 when James Biddle anchored 2 warships in Edo Bay. He sent a request that Japan sign a treaty and open up for trade, a deal which he had just successfully made with a village in China. After waiting a few days a ship came out to meet him to pass on their response. He was invited aboard the Japanese ship, which he reluctantly agreed to, however a miscommunication ended up with a Samurai drawing their sword on Biddle, so he quickly went back to he own ship. The Shogunate officials apologized for the incident and passed on their message that trade and communication with foreign countries was banned, and all foreign contact must be made through Nagasaki, and he needs to leave immediately. Biddle left empty handed, but of course the US would return soon.
During the 1840’s Japanese medicine was trying to deal with the large outbreak of disease that was causing so many issues. Through Rengaku (western study) scholars had heard of the cowpox vaccination as a way to deal with smallpox. Government officials in Nagasaki close with the Dutch East India Trading company asked them to send some cowpox samples to study. The domains chief physician took the sample and was shown by Dutch physician Otto Mohnike how to perform the vaccination. The first person vaccinated in Japan against smallpox was the son of Saga Domain Daimyo Nabeshima Naomasa. Within a year information was going out all across Japan about getting the Vaccination procedure. While the government was against western methods, particularly as they relied on and taught a lot of traditional Chinese medicine, but they didn’t put a stop to it as they could see its effectiveness in helping reduce the disease. Emperor Komei, who started his rule in 1846, was strongly against the Shogunate and helped the rebellion against them. He was also very anti-western technology. He refused the vaccination, helped the anti-tokugawa clans gain power, and then died… of smallpox.