The significance of the Treaty of Kanagawa in 1854 for Japan was monumental, as it marked the end of Japan's isolationist foreign policy, known as sakoku, that had lasted for over two centuries. Negotiated under pressure from Commodore Matthew Perry and the United States, the treaty opened Japanese ports to American trade and established diplomatic relations between the two nations. This event catalyzed a wave of modernization and reform in Japan, leading to the Meiji Restoration and significant social, political, and economic transformation. The treaty ultimately set the stage for Japan's emergence as a global power in the subsequent decades.