In 1858, Hotta met with Emperor Kōmei and submitted the Harris Treaty, which allowed for Westerners to trade in Japan and granted them extraterritoriality. The emperor refused to support the treaty, and the anti-foreign movement in Mito and other domains saw the event as an opportunity to unite behind the emperor. Hotta's failure to obtain the emperor's support further reinforced the Mito loyalist's belief that they had to revere the emperor and confront the 'barbarian' West.