Editing Yokohama (section)

===Opening of the Treaty Port (1859–1868)===
Before the Europeans arrived, Yokohama was a small fishing village up to the end of the feudal [[Edo period]], when Japan held [[Sakoku|a policy of national seclusion]], having little contact with foreigners.<ref>''Der Große Brockhaus.'' 16. edition. Vol. 6. F. A. Brockhaus, Wiesbaden 1955, p. 82</ref> A major turning point in Japanese history happened in 1853–54, when Commodore [[Matthew C. Perry|Matthew Perry]] arrived just south of Yokohama with a fleet of American warships, demanding that Japan open several ports for commerce, and the [[Tokugawa shogunate]] agreed by signing the [[Treaty of Peace and Amity]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.city.yokohama.jp/me/kyoiku/library/perry/ |title=Official Yokohama city website it is fresh |publisher=City.yokohama.jp |access-date=May 5, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100612234615/http://www.city.yokohama.jp/me/kyoiku/library/perry/ |archive-date=June 12, 2010 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}</ref>

It was initially agreed that one of the ports to be opened to foreign ships would be the town of [[Kanagawa-juku]] (in what is now [[Kanagawa-ku, Yokohama|Kanagawa Ward]]) on the [[Tōkaidō (road)|Tōkaidō]], a strategic highway that linked [[Edo (Tokyo)|Edo]] to Kyoto and Osaka. However, the [[Tokugawa shogunate]] decided that Kanagawa-juku was too close to the Tōkaidō for comfort, and port facilities were instead built across the inlet in the fishing village of Yokohama. The [[Port of Yokohama]] was officially opened on June 2, 1859.<ref>Arita, Erika, "[http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fl20090524x1.html Happy Birthday Yokohama!] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100831235409/http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fl20090524x1.html |date=August 31, 2010 }}", ''[[The Japan Times]]'', May 24, 2009, p. 7.</ref>

Yokohama quickly became the base of foreign trade in Japan. Foreigners initially occupied the low-lying district of the city called [[Kannai]], residential districts later expanding as the settlement grew to incorporate much of the elevated [[Yamate]] district overlooking the city, commonly referred to by English-speaking residents as ''The Bluff''. Under pressure from United States and United Kingdom officials, the Tokugawa government built a commercial sex district which opened on November 10, 1859, with 6 brothels and 200 indentured sex workers.'''<ref name=":6">{{Cite book |last=Driscoll |first=Mark W. |title=The Whites are Enemies of Heaven: Climate Caucasianism and Asian Ecological Protection |date=2020 |publisher=[[Duke University Press]] |isbn=978-1-4780-1121-7 |location=Durham}}</ref>'''{{Rp|page=68}} The area of Yokohama with the highest concentration of brothels was known as Bloodtown.<ref name=":6" />{{Rp|page=67}}

[[Kannai]], the foreign trade and commercial district (literally, ''inside the barrier''), was surrounded by a moat, foreign residents enjoying extraterritorial status both within and outside the compound. Interactions with the local population, particularly young samurai, outside the settlement inevitably caused problems; the [[Namamugi Incident]], one of the events that preceded the [[Bakumatsu|downfall of the shogunate]], took place in what is now [[Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama|Tsurumi Ward]] in 1862, and prompted the [[Bombardment of Kagoshima]] in 1863.

To protect British commercial and diplomatic interests in Yokohama a [[Yamate#British Military Garrison|military garrison]] was established in 1862. With the growth in trade increasing numbers of Chinese also came to settle in the city.<ref>Fukue, Natsuko, "[http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20090528f1.html Chinese immigrants played vital role] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100824044629/http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20090528f1.html |date=August 24, 2010 }}", ''[[Japan Times]]'', May 28, 2009, p. 3.</ref> Yokohama was the scene of many notable firsts for Japan including the growing acceptance of western fashion, photography by pioneers such as [[Felice Beato]], Japan's first English language newspaper, the ''Japan Herald'' published in 1861 and in 1865 the first ice cream confectionery and [[William Copeland (brewer)|beer]] to be produced in Japan.<ref>Matsutani, Minoru, "[http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20090529f2.html Yokohama – city on the cutting edge] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100826113559/http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20090529f2.html |date=August 26, 2010 }}", ''[[Japan Times]]'', May 29, 2009, p. 3.</ref> Recreational sports introduced to Japan by foreign residents in Yokohama included European style [[Horse racing in Japan#History|horse racing]] in 1862, [[Yokohama Country & Athletic Club|cricket]] in 1863<ref>{{cite news|last1=Galbraith|first1=Michael|title=Death threats sparked Japan's first cricket game|url=http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/06/16/national/history/death-threats-sparked-japans-first-cricket-game/#.Vv25ETGCjL8|access-date=1 April 2016|newspaper=Japan Times|date=16 June 2013|archive-date=April 1, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190401134140/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/06/16/national/history/death-threats-sparked-japans-first-cricket-game/#.Vv25ETGCjL8|url-status=live}}</ref> and [[Rugby union in Japan#History|rugby union]] in 1866. A great fire destroyed much of the foreign settlement on November 26, 1866, and [[smallpox]] was a recurrent public health hazard, but the city continued to grow rapidly – attracting foreigners and Japanese alike.