In 1638, the Tokugawa Shogunate issued a series of decrees that effectively isolated Japan from the rest of the world. All foreigners were expelled, Japanese nationals were prohibited from traveling overseas and those already living abroad forbidden to return under penalty of death. Construction of sea-going vessels was outlawed. Japan retreated back to a feudal society dominated by the samurai ruling class and, for more than 200 years, contact with outsiders was restricted to a controlled number of visits to the port of Nagasaki by Dutch and Chinese merchants.

By the 19th Century, however, pressures were growing on Japan to renew its links with the rest of the world. European influence in East Asia was expanding and commerce in the region was growing rapidly. Trading ports had already been established at Singapore (1819), Hong Kong (1841) and at four ports in China, including Shanghai, in 1842. In 1853, a United States expedition (the so-called "black ships") under the command of Commodore Perry arrived in Tokyo Bay and presented a list of demands to the Shogun. This led in 1854 to the Treaty of Kanagawa, which established diplomatic relations. Japanese isolation was finally ended in 1858 when the first American consul, Townsend Harris, concluded a treaty covering most aspects of trade and navigation. This was quickly followed by similar arrangements with the major European powers. These ansei (unequal) treaties provided for certain designated ports to be opened for foreign trade. One such port was the small fishing village of Yokohama, which was selected to serve the population centre at Edo, or Tokyo as we know it today. Construction work began as soon as the ansei treaties were approved and, when the port opened in 1859, foreign merchants and adventurers streamed in.

Among the early arrivals was a young Englishman named Frederick Cornes. He had been born in 1837 in Macclesfield, one of the main centres of the British silk trade, where his father owned a small silk mill. After learning the family business, he left England in 1858 for Shanghai to act as a silk buyer for a Manchester based importer. The opening up of Japan made available new sources of silk and Frederick Cornes moved to Yokohama early in 1861 where he jointly established Aspinall, Cornes & Company in partnership with a young tea trader, William Aspinall, to export silk and green tea. The business quickly expanded to include the import of cotton, metals, consumer goods, coal and other raw materials. In 1863, Aspinall-Cornes secured the agency of the P&O steamship line and this prestigious appointment led to further agencies for Universal Marine, London & Oriental, Commercial Union and Queen insurance companies. In 1868, Aspinall-Cornes was appointed the first Lloyd's agent in Japan - a position that the company still holds to this day.

In 1873, William Aspinall left the partnership and the firm changed its name to Cornes & Company. The business continued to prosper. Growth in trading activities saw the opening of branches in Kobe and in New York while, in Japan, Cornes was chosen to represent Ben Line in 1888. Later additional insurance companies - including the Royal Exchange and Norwich Union - appointed Cornes as their agent.

Frederick Cornes died in 1927 at the age of 90 and is buried in Teddington Cemetery near London. Today, the firm that he founded employs over 1,000 people spread across four continents, and is involved in areas of business and technology that he could not have imagined. Agricultural machinery, automobiles, aircraft, avionics, electronic systems and equipment, semiconductors and IC's are all examples of how Cornes has kept abreast of market trends, and has been quick to enter new fields closely attuned to the rapidly changing needs of modern society. The company does, however, retain its links to the past. Cornes remains Lloyd's agent in Japan to this day and continues to be recognized as a pioneer in the Japanese insurance industry. Indeed, it is this combination of proud heritage and forward thinking that has allowed Cornes to successfully serve as a gateway to Japan for more than 140 years, and forwards into the 21st Century.