Their prayers were finally answered in the late 1850s after Commodore Perry's gunboats opened Japan to Westerners.

WSJ: Meghan Clyne: A Japanese Lesson About China for the Pope

When Commodore Perry showed up with his warships back in 1853, he created a crisis that forced Japan to act.

FORBES: Magazine Article

That was the famous Meiji emperor, and in his case the visiting American was Commodore Matthew Perry , who steamed into Tokyo Bay in 1853 with a powerful squadron and "suggested" that Japan abandon its feudal isolation and open relations with the outside world.

FORBES: Magazine Article