Shimoda (??? ,Shimoda-shi?) is a
city and
port in
Shizuoka,
Japan. The city is located at the southern tip of the
Izu peninsula about 60&_160;miles (97&_160;km) southwest of
Tokyo. Shimoda location, with the
Amagi Mountains to the north, and the warm
Kuroshio current to the south give the city a humid, sub-tropical climate.
In the 1850s, Japan was in political crisis over its increasing inabiliy to maintain its national seclusion policy and the issue of what relations, if any, it should have with foreign powers. For a few years, Shimoda was central to this debate.
Shimoda has been settled since prehistoric times, with numerous Jomon period remains found within city limits. It is mentioned in Nara period documents as the location to which Prince Otsu was exiled in 686 after his failed rebellion, and in Heian period documents in reference to its iron ore deposits. During the Sengoku period it was controlled by the Hojo clan, who built a castle (later destroyed by Toyotomi Hideyoshi). Under the Tokugawa shogunate, Shimoda was tenryo territory directly administered by the Shogun. During the Edo period, Shimoda prospered as a seaport, and was a major port of call for coastal vessels travelling between Osaka and Edo. Umtil 1721, as a security measure, all vessels were obligated to call at Shimoda before proceeding on to Edo.
During the Bakumatsu period, Shimoda port was opened to American trade under the conditions of the Convention of Kanagawa, negotiated by Commodore Matthew Perry and signed on March 31, 1854. Shimoda was also the site of Yoshida Shoin's unsuccessful attempt to board Perry's 'black ships' in 1854.
