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The Treaty of Amity and Commerce between the United States and Japan, also known as the Harris Treaty after US Consul [[Townsend Harris]], was the first treaty signed between Japan and any of the Western powers to establish formal diplomatic relations in the modern/Western sense.  

The Treaty of Amity and Commerce between the United States and Japan, also known as the Harris Treaty after US Consul [[Townsend Harris]], was the first treaty signed between Japan and any of the Western powers to establish formal diplomatic relations in the modern/Western sense.  

It came on the heels of the [[Convention of Kanagawa]] signed with [[Commodore Matthew Perry]] in [[1854]], similar conventions signed with the [[Anglo-Japanese Convention of 1854|British]] and the [[Treaty of Shimoda|Russians]], and a formal commercial treaty with the Dutch. Signed on [[1858]]/6/19 (July 29) by Harris and representatives of the [[Tokugawa shogunate]] aboard the [[USS Powhatan|USS ''Powhatan'']] anchored in [[Edo]] Bay, the treaty provided for the exchange of consuls, the opening of a number of ports, and certain freedoms and protections for Americans resident in Japan, among other provisions. Some scholars place particular emphasis on the fact that ''[[Tairo|Tairô]]'' [[Ii Naosuke]] ordered the Treaty to be signed without first consulting with the Imperial Court.<ref>Marco Tinello, "The termination of the Ryukyuan embassies to Edo : an investigation of the bakumatsu period through the lens of a tripartite power relationship and its world," PhD thesis, Università Ca' Foscari Venezia (2014), 247.</ref> This caused resentment or anger among certain factions, but as the Tokugawa shogunate still ruled at that time, Ii was well within his rights, as the topmost official beneath the shogun, to make such a decision.

It came on the heels of the [[Convention of Kanagawa]] signed with [[Commodore Matthew Perry]] in [[1854]], similar conventions signed with the [[Anglo-Japanese Convention of 1854|British]] and the [[Treaty of Shimoda|Russians]], and a formal commercial treaty with the Dutch. Signed on [[1858]]/6/19 (July 29) by Harris and representatives of the [[Tokugawa shogunate]] aboard the [[USS Powhatan|USS ''Powhatan'']] anchored in [[Edo]] Bay, the treaty provided for the exchange of consuls, the opening of a number of ports, and certain freedoms and protections for Americans resident in Japan, among other provisions. ''[[Tairo|Tairô]]'' [[Ii Naosuke]] ordered the Treaty to be signed despite [[Emperor Komei|the reigning emperor]] explicitly saying he did not support this move; combined with Naosuke's naming [[Tokugawa Iemochi]] the next shogun despite the Emperor's (and many ''daimyô's'') support for [[Tokugawa Yoshinobu]], this caused considerable resentment and anger among certain factions.<ref>Andrew Gordon, ''A Modern History of Japan'', Oxford University Press (2013), 53.</ref>

As with other treaties of this time, copies were produced in the English, Japanese, and Dutch languages; however, where the Japanese had previously insisted on the Chinese or Japanese version being the official wording to follow, here it was the Dutch version that was to be considered the original. The Harris Treaty also differed importantly from earlier treaties and conventions in that it was signed by the shogun himself, making it the first treaty to mark the beginning of formal diplomatic relations; prior to this, the shogunate had insisted that no one higher than the ''[[roju|rôjû]]'' would sign such agreements, and that in doing so, the shogunate was adhering to its policies of [[kaikin|maritime restrictions]], and was not entering into formal diplomatic relations with any new diplomatic partners.

As with other treaties of this time, copies were produced in the English, Japanese, and Dutch languages; however, where the Japanese had previously insisted on the Chinese or Japanese version being the official wording to follow, here it was the Dutch version that was to be considered the original. The Harris Treaty also differed importantly from earlier treaties and conventions in that it was signed by the shogun himself, making it the first treaty to mark the beginning of formal diplomatic relations; prior to this, the shogunate had insisted that no one higher than the ''[[roju|rôjû]]'' would sign such agreements, and that in doing so, the shogunate was adhering to its policies of [[kaikin|maritime restrictions]], and was not entering into formal diplomatic relations with any new diplomatic partners.

[[Extraterritoriality]] was granted to Americans in Japan, who would be tried in American courts even for alleged crimes against Japanese, while Japanese were to be tried in Japanese courts even for crimes against Americans. American consular courts were to be made available for Japanese to file civil lawsuits against Americans, and Americans were to be free to file suits in the Japanese courts, against Japanese defendants.

[[Extraterritoriality]] was granted to Americans in Japan, who would be tried in American courts even for alleged crimes against Japanese, while Japanese were to be tried in Japanese courts even for crimes against Americans. American consular courts were to be made available for Japanese to file civil lawsuits against Americans, and Americans were to be free to file suits in the Japanese courts, against Japanese defendants.

The Treaty banned the importation of [[opium]] into Japan, and contained a variety of other provisions specifying the types and rates of taxes to be paid for imports and exports, as well as providing for foreign currency to be accepted throughout the country as equivalent to Japanese [[currency]], per its weight in gold or silver. It provided, also, for the Japanese government to be able to purchase ships and other military equipment and materiel, and to hire American naval and military men, scientists, and craftsmen. This set the foundation for the [[Meiji period]] hiring of a number of ''[[oyatoi gaikokujin]]'' - foreign experts in the sciences, arts, politics & governance, and military matters - to aid in or guide Japan's modernization/Westernization efforts.

The Treaty banned the importation of [[opium]] into Japan, and surrendered tariff autonomy,<ref>Andrew Gordon, ''A Modern History of Japan'', Oxford University Press (2013), 51.</ref> containing a variety provisions specifying the types and rates of taxes to be paid for imports and exports, as well as providing for foreign currency to be accepted throughout the country as equivalent to Japanese [[currency]], per its weight in gold or silver. It provided, also, for the Japanese government to be able to purchase ships and other military equipment and materiel, and to hire American naval and military men, scientists, and craftsmen. This set the foundation for the [[Meiji period]] hiring of a number of ''[[oyatoi gaikokujin]]'' - foreign experts in the sciences, arts, politics & governance, and military matters - to aid in or guide Japan's modernization/Westernization efforts.

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