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In 1854, Commodore Matthew C. Perry and Tokugawa officials led by Hayashi Akira signed the Treaty of Kanagawa at Kanagawa near Edo. The agreement opened Shimoda and Hakodate for American ships to take supplies, required humane treatment of shipwrecked sailors, and allowed a U.S. consul at Shimoda after eighteen months, ending Japan’s long seclusion and beginning its path toward global engagement.