Part 2: Seclusion and Expansion: 鎖国と開拓

Students examine how the Tokugawa Bakufu maintained its control and kept the country at peace for almost 270 years by exercising strong control over the daimyos and enforcing a seclusion policy toward the rest of the world. This period of peace and stability is contrasted with the history of 18th-19th century America, when the United States fought for its independence from England and began its expansion to the West.

徳川幕府が大名を戦略的に支配し、また、鎖国をして外国に門を閉ざすことで２７０年あまりの平和と全国支配をいかに維持したかを学ぶ。また、江戸時代の安定した社会を１８?１９世紀のアメリカ史と対比させる。この頃、アメリカはイギリスから独立し、西部への開拓を進めていた。

Part 3: Arrival of Perry: ペリーの来航

Students learn how Japan’s long period of isolation ended when President Fillmore ordered naval officer Matthew C. Perry to lead an expedition to Japan to demand treaty relations in the mid-19th century. By studying paintings of the American war vessels (the “black ships”) and portraits of Perry, students learn of the mixed feeling of fear and curiosity Japan felt toward the West.

米国フィルモア大統領は日本に渡航し開国を迫るよう、東インド艦隊司令長官ペリーに命じた。ペリー来航により長年続いた鎖国はついに幕を閉じた。黒船やペリーの似顔絵から、日本の西洋に対する恐れと興味の入り交じった複雑な感情を読み取る。

Part 4: A New Era: 新しい時代

Students compare and contrast the development of the two countries during the last half of the 19th century. Social discontent and military activity in Japan ended 270 years of feudal rule and the Tokugawa Bakufu was replaced by a stronger centralized government. This is contrasted with the historical turning point of the United States when four years of Civil War united the country under a federal government. During the last half of the 19th century, both Japan and the U.S. experienced accelerated industrial development and important political turning points in their history. Students will come to understand that although the two countries took different paths, both Japan and the United States experienced a critical moment of their history at the same time.
In a final group project, students produce a Web site that will trace the comparative history of these two countries in the 17 th -19th centuries. Each group identifies a social change that took place during that period which either marks a contrast between Japan and the U.S. (such as Japan’s seclusion policy vs. American expansionism) or reveals a similarity between the two countries (industrial development in the late 19th century). Students gather visual materials that illustrate their main points, write a brief description of each illustration, and compile the images and text to make a simple Web page. Web pages from each group are then gathered together to make a class Web site on U.S.-Japan comparative history.

１９世紀後半の日本とアメリカ両国の歴史的発展を比較する。国民の不満と軍事的活動の多発から封建体制は支障を来し、２７０年続いた徳川幕府はより強固な中央政権に取って代わられる。日本が幕末を迎えた頃、アメリカでも４年に渡る南北戦争が終わり、新しい連邦政府のもとに国がまとめられた。１９世紀後半の両国は工業化が進み、政治的にも重要な節目にあった。互いに違う道のりを歩んではいるものの、日米ともに歴史上の重要な転換期を同じ時期に迎えたことを理解する。
グループプロジェクトとして、１７?１９世紀の日米史を比較するウェブぺージを作る。各グループは、その間に起こった日米の社会的変化の中で対照的な事柄（例：鎖国と開拓）、もしくは相似する事柄（例：１９世紀の工業化）を選ぶ。自分たちの主張を支持するグラフ、図、絵などを準備し、簡単な説明を書く。各グループのウェブページをまとめて、クラスのウェブサイトが完成される。