A sign of the change was the adoption of a new name. Nakagoro Togo chose the name Heihachiro, which means "peaceful son," as the name by which he would be known ever after.
Togo was educated early in life, as was the custom with any son of a samurai. He was trained as a warrior, which he was expected to be. Except for minor skirmishes and policing actions, however, it was believed that his skills as a samurai would be used more effectively as an administrator and leader. This was because Japan, at the time of Togo's birth, remained effectively cut off from the rest of the world, and did not consider itself as having a political or military role beyond its borders. Its sole contact with the rest of the world was through a monopolistic trade agreement with the Dutch that provided Dutch traders limited port facilities at Nagasaki.
That changed abruptly in 1853, when a four-ship American fleet under the command of Commodore Matthew C. Perry sailed into Yedo Bay to present the request of President Millard Fillmore that Japan open its borders to U.S.
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