During the 1850’s the pacific world began to feel immense pressure from the west, as they began to surpass them through the construction of war ships and other resources. In a desperate attempt to preserve their cultural values and pride, four patriotic men decided to voice their opinions on how to better their home country. Tokugawa Nariaki and Ii Naosuke were advocates for Japan, while Feng Guifen and Woren were citizens of China. Although each one made excellent points on ways to benefit the country, I believe that Ii Naosuke made the most persuasive and strong argument.
I believe that Ii Naosuke made the most convincing proposal out of all four authors by providing a scenario, plan of action, and a future goal. To begin, he used an excellent analogy to capture the reader by creating a known scenario that they could easily understand and apply to the situation. This story of the drawbridge pains a picture of those trying desperately to shut the world out, but in doing to starve themselves of resources and ignore the fact that in order to attain victory you must confront the enemy head on. He then addresses the fact that both countries are in need of coal, and in an attempt to befriend that Americans the Japanese should offer to supply …show more content…
His way of doing this was by employing the Dutch on supposed merchant vessels with the secret purpose of using their knowledge to construct enough battle ships that word would travel across the world of Japan’s power. To support his plans, he then reminds them of the Kansei period in which the ban against foreigners was reimposed once the country had gained enough strength to support themselves again. This method of tying in a successful historical moment was a cunning move for Ii Naosuke, who knew that that bafuku would wish to regain and surpass the historical power and prestige of
I believe that Ii Naosuke made the most convincing proposal out of all four authors by providing a scenario, plan of action, and a future goal. To begin, he used an excellent analogy to capture the reader by creating a known scenario that they could easily understand and apply to the situation. This story of the drawbridge pains a picture of those trying desperately to shut the world out, but in doing to starve themselves of resources and ignore the fact that in order to attain victory you must confront the enemy head on. He then addresses the fact that both countries are in need of coal, and in an attempt to befriend that Americans the Japanese should offer to supply …show more content…
His way of doing this was by employing the Dutch on supposed merchant vessels with the secret purpose of using their knowledge to construct enough battle ships that word would travel across the world of Japan’s power. To support his plans, he then reminds them of the Kansei period in which the ban against foreigners was reimposed once the country had gained enough strength to support themselves again. This method of tying in a successful historical moment was a cunning move for Ii Naosuke, who knew that that bafuku would wish to regain and surpass the historical power and prestige of