Grade 8 · Social Studies · Unit 3 of 10
From Isolation to Adaptation
Perry, the Meiji Restoration and a changing Japan
What your child practises
How American ships arrived in 1853, how Japan opened to the world, and how the Meiji government built railways, schools and industry while keeping parts of its own culture.
Alberta Curriculum learning outcome: 8.1 · the end of isolation, the Meiji Restoration and how Japan adapted to new influences
Sample questions
A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.
Question 1
In the Meiji period, Japan set up…
- a system of only private tutors
- a ban on reading
- no schools at all
- a national system of schools
Show answer
a national system of schools
Hint: Education was made widely available to build a skilled population.
Question 2
Why did Japan's leaders look to other countries for ideas?
- They wanted to stop all change.
- They wanted to become isolated again.
- They wanted to build a strong, modern country that could protect itself.
- They wanted to give up independence.
Show answer
They wanted to build a strong, modern country that could protect itself.
Hint: Leaders sent missions abroad to study technology, law and education.
Question 3
Which country did Commodore Perry sail from to ask Japan to open its ports?
- the United States
- Mexico
- Brazil
- Spain
Show answer
the United States
Hint: Perry's ships arrived in 1853 and again in 1854.
Question 4
Which of these was a part of Japan's modernization in the Meiji period?
- banning schools
- stopping all trade
- closing all ports
- building railways and factories
Show answer
building railways and factories
Hint: Japan built its first railway in 1872 and invested in industry.
Question 5
How did Perry's visit change Japan?
- It pushed Japan to open some ports to trade and weakened the shogunate.
- It had no effect.
- It made Japan a colony.
- It ended trade for good.
Show answer
It pushed Japan to open some ports to trade and weakened the shogunate.
Hint: The treaty signed in 1854 opened ports and showed Japan's rulers could not stop foreign power.
Question 6
Tokugawa period or Meiji period? Sort each description.
Sort into: 🏯 Tokugawa (before 1868) · 🚆 Meiji (after 1868)
- 🏛️emperor is the centre of government in Tokyo
- 🚆first railway opens
- 🚢foreign trade limited to Nagasaki
- 🏯the shogun holds real power
- ⚔️samurai ranked at the top
- 🏫national schools for children
- 🗾daimyo rule their domains
- 🪖an army of ordinary citizens
Show answer
🏯 Tokugawa (before 1868): foreign trade limited to Nagasaki, the shogun holds real power, samurai ranked at the top, daimyo rule their domains · 🚆 Meiji (after 1868): emperor is the centre of government in Tokyo, first railway opens, national schools for children, an army of ordinary citizens
Hint: The Tokugawa shoguns ruled until 1868 and limited foreign contact. The Meiji period began in 1868 with rapid modernization.