What were the features of the development of Japanese society in the middle of the 19th century?

What were the features of the development of Japanese society in the middle of the 19th century? When and how did Europeans penetrate Japanese markets?

It should be emphasized that the main component of the socio-economic development of Japan in the XVII – first half of the XIX century. was the growing crisis of feudal relations and the gradual formation of the foundations for the subsequent capitalist development of the country. In light of this most important trend, it is necessary to analyze the changes in the position of the feudal class, the peasantry, and also the urban strata of Japanese society. These changes took place despite the attempts of the shoguns to legislate the life of various social groups. It should be noted that under the influence of the growth of commodity-money relations, there was a gradual stratification and disintegration of the most numerous group of the feudal class – the samurai, which actually lost its main military function after the unification of the country. On the other hand, it is necessary to pay attention to the processes associated with social differentiation among the Japanese peasantry. The trend towards the spread of commodity-money relations in Japanese.