With the death of the childless Shogun Iesada, the rift between the Tokugawa and the tozama daimyo grew worse. this, combined with the defeat of the shogun by Commodore Perry's expedition- which exposed the shogun's weakness- led the Emperor to issue an order for foreign barbarians to be expelled from Japan. As the shogun began to open up to the outside world, the Sonno Joi movement called for this to be reversed. Japan itself was closed off to the outside world, implementing the Sakoku policy which kept it relatively backwards and secluded. Japan begins the Victorian era in a feudal system, with the Tokugawa shogun ruling over various daimyo (this was known as the Han system) and the Emperor much-reduced in power.
