Commodore Matthew Perry:
American Black Ships in the Land of the Samurai
Adapted from:
Rieko Shimizu
Larry R. Fisher, Instructor
International English Center
University of Colorado at Boulder
July 26, 2000
OUTLINE
Thesis: In March 1854, Commodore Matthew Perry became the
first successful foreigner to open up Japan after a 250-year isolation.
He succeeded due to his diplomatic skills, presentation style and gifts.
Finally, Japan decided to open its country and enter into a treaty with the
United States.
I. Introduction
A. Background
1. Mission
2. History
B. Topic
1. The success
of the United States
2. Perry
as an American
II. Perry’s Diplomatic Skills
A. Personality
B. The Navy as diplomats
C. Experience
III. Perry’s Presentation Style
A. Preparation for Japan
B. Courtesy
IV. Industrial exposition
V. Japanese reaction
A. July 1853
B. Japanese reply after Perry left
C. Making a treaty with Perry
VI. Conclusion
One hundred
and fifty years ago, an American commodore was assigned by the American President
to go to “the barbarian land.” The commodore’s name
was Matthew Perry and the land was Japan (Walworth 18). He was curious
enough to become interested in the mission, even though it was said that “the
Japanese were the least interesting people in the world” at that time (Graff
63). Japan had been closed to the outside world for 250 years. When foreign
people entered Japanese waters, even if they were shipwrecked by accident, they
were interned in jails and some of them were killed (Lubor 33). The reasons
for the Japanese isolationistic policies were the military
threats of Western countries and the invasive influence of Western people who
brought Christianity and cultures different from the Japanese. Also the Japanese
knew how Western military had dominated many countries, including the gigantic
China so easily (Duus 56-57).
At that time, the United States saw that Japan might be ideally situated to
serve as a coaling station for the new steam-powered ships of the U.S. Navy
as well as a new opportunity for trading. Actually, during the Japanese isolation,
many American ships hunting whales off the coast of Japan needed a port for
supplies; however, Japan was cruel to sailors shipwrecked on its shores and
not interested in any trade with foreigners (Lubor 33). That is why, Perry prepared
for this expedition for a long time by gathering information and collecting
the gifts for the Japanese to impress them (Walworth 23).
When Perry arrived at Uraga in Japan with five black ships in 1853, the Japanese
did not welcome him and tried to force him to return (Fallow 21). However,
he did not give up trying to change the Japanese mind by convincing them to
open up their country. He successfully used convincing presentation skills,
held an industrial exposition with the latest in technology and implied the
use of his military power, which the Japanese did not have. According to Friedrich,
Perry offered a letter from the White House that stated the U.S. wanted “1)
a fueling station for its merchant ships, 2) a commercial treaty permitting
free trade, and 3) friendship.” [For a complete text of the letter
from President Fillmore, click here.] If the
Japanese did not accept these offers, Perry would oblige them to do so by the
military power of the United States (1). In 1854, finally, the Japanese government
accepted Perry’s demands and made a treaty with the United States (Walworth
158). Perry achieved great change in the Japanese government by
opening the country after a long isolation.
After the
Japanese government decided to close its country in 1639, many countries tried
to open up Japan to the outside world. At that time, such countries as
England, France, Holland, Spain and Portugal successfully dominated many Asian
countries from the seventeenth to eighteenth centuries. However, Western countries
had a difficult time approaching Japan, because the Japanese government established
a law that, if a foreign ship came close to Japan, it had to force out the intruder
by military power. However, surprisingly, only the United States succeeded
in overcoming this difficulty even though it had been only about 100 years since
it was established and was the newest country in the area, with very little
experience in Asia, and a relatively new military.
Matthew Perry,
the commodore of the U.S. navy, was very different from his Western counterparts.
Perry tried to negotiate with the Japanese by not only using American military
power but also by impressing on the Japanese the value of egalitarianism and
change. He also tried to negotiate with the Japanese as an American who
was “more practical than aristocratic” and “more technological
than artistic” (Lubor 33). The Japanese were impressed by his way
and at last decided to sign a treaty with him. Part of Perry's success can be
directly attributed to Perry himself. Perry was in his late fifties and
a really big man. The shipmen working with him were so afraid of him because
of his appearance and his personality; for example, his intolerance to the ignorant
and the lazy. He was also known as a fair and diligent person who had
a strong pride in the Navy (Walworth 4). He was also described as a person who
was stubborn, not interested in humor and "imperious." (Duus 68).
Fallows also indicates that, even when he was three years old, he had already
learned how to meet challenges like fighting with his brothers by calling them
naughty words.
Surprisingly, the U.S. decided to send its Navy instead of its diplomats to
Japan and Perry personified the Navy. In 1851, Commander Glynn suggested
to the President that Matthew Perry could be the leader of an expedition to
Japan because of his reliability of experience and judgment, skill, patience,
intelligent determination, and naval rank (Walworth 18). According to
Fallows, Perry, born in 1794, devoted all of his life to the expansion of the
U.S. Navy (22). Walworth notes that his father, four brothers, and two brothers-in-law
had been naval officers (20). An American newspaper praised him as the most
efficient officer in the Navy (Walworth 20).
Perry had excellent experience in dealing with foreign people during his assignments
with the Navy (Fallows 22-29). The first important mission for Perry in
1819 was to transport freed slaves to Africa during the founding of Liberia
(22). According to Walworth, after that, Perry succeeded in the settling
of blacks in areas that had been established in Nigeria by the American Colonization
Society in 1843. At that time, he had enough abilities to so impress the
uncooperative tribesmen that the coast was made safe, the missionaries suffered
no more violence and commerce grew. He also insisted on superior gunnery
in the war with Mexico. Heavier armaments as well as courage are what
he learned from his brother, who was a hero in battle (29). Perry, referring
to his former commands in Africa and Mexico, said, ”I found no difficulty
in conciliating the good will and confidence of the conquered people, by administering
the unrestricted power I held rather to their comfort and protection than to
their annoyance…and so I believe that... If treated with strict justice
and gentle kindness…the Japanese will learn to consider us their friends”
(30).
Perry was the right person to accomplish such a tough mission that had to change
completely an unknown and barbarian country in Asia. Lubor indicates Perry
confirmed that the Japanese would not win against his five armed ships and did
not have guns (32). By using his military power, he would scare the Japanese
and force them to play into his hands. Definitely use of military force
was the common strategy Western countries used to dominate Asian countries in
that era. However, Perry’s use of the military to open up Japan was different
from other Western rivals. He was an American whose young country represented
equality and change, not military bullying.
Perry believed that the firm but friendly presentation of himself and his country
was one of the most important ways to impress or change the Japanese (Lubor
33). He never failed to prepare and study about Japan very carefully.
According to Walworth, Perry had been attracted to opening up Japan for a long
time. He spent considerable time talking about it with friends; on the
other hand, he quite understood how difficult it would be to accomplish this
mission. He read enthusiastically about forty books related to Japan and met
many people who might give some hints to him about the expedition to Japan.
Moreover, he looked over how to navigate in Japanese waters and went to Boston,
New Bedford and Providence for the research. He had been thinking how
to impress the Japanese by giving presents of the United States. He spent
much time finding the suitable products. He ordered the Navy Department
and some companies he was interested in to bring samples for ideal presents
from this country. Many manufacturers gave or donated to him the great
products that demonstrated the representative industries (23).
According to Lubor, Perry's presents for the Japanese would make an impression
on them. He gave the Japanese some small presents like wine, champagne
and perfume. In addition to these presents, he gave a telegraph system,
daguerreotype camera, a telescope, maps and Coast Survey charts, a copper surfboat,
engineering books and weapons like colt revolvers, Hall rifles, other firearms
and swords. These presents and the exposition were successful in implying that
the United States was "more practical than aristocratic" and "more
technological than artistic" (35). He tried to emphasize that his
country had faith in science, change and egalitarianism.
In July, 1853, Perry arrived at Uraga in Japan with five black ships. It is
easy to imagine how astonished the Japanese were by this event. Even until now,
in Shimoda, the first port Perry opened in Japan, there is a grand festival
every year in July attracting over one hundred thousand people from all over
Japan, to commemorate the arrival of Perry and his black ships. As a result
of these events, Perry and the KUROFUNE (Black Ships in Japanese) have become
very famous.
Perry benefited from having perhaps the most technologically advanced ships
of the time. Fallows mentions that the Black ships Mississippi
and the Susquehanna had the world’s most contemporary designs and
were two of the first ships in the American Navy to be driven by steam (21).
The Japanese had never seen in their entire history such huge and technologically
innovative ships. However, Perry chose not to use such force because it
would not be the best way to achieve this mission. He also planned very
carefully the best way to present the formal letter from President Fillmore
to the Japanese emperor. The letter was humble, but it was graceful.
Moreover, he took care of the way of wrapping it. He had prepared a special
box with beautiful art for this letter in Washington (32-33).
Perry knew that the Japanese would not welcome him and his Navy
when he arrived in Japan at first. In fact, the Japanese reactions were
astonishment and malice. Since 1639, Japan had been closed to foreign
countries. From the Japanese point of view, Western people were “red-haired
barbarians.” The Japanese greeted Westerners with unfriendliness
and skepticism because of the threats of Christianity and the power of invasion.
At that time, the Japanese government encouraged the people to live frugal lives,
to receive a moral education, and to follow a military spirit. However,
they considered Western culture as luxurious, immoral, and socially corrupt.
Furthermore, the Japanese knew the Western naval powers were strong enough to
destroy gigantic China easily in the 1840s. It was very shocking to Japan (Duus
56-57).
When Perry’s Navy approached the shores of Uraga, suddenly the Japanese
army fired up a ball of smoke from a rocket. After that, some officials
on a small guard boat came close to the Mississippi. However, the Americans
rejected the Japanese request to board her because of Perry’s order.
The Japanese officers gestured at the ship’s anchor, shook their heads
as if to say “no,” and showed a large document written in French which
was a warning that, if the foreigners entered here, they would be in danger.
When the Americans quieted their engines, they were able to hear in the crowd
on the shore a wild racket. One Japanese in the boat told the Americans
that he could speak Dutch. Actually, he came there as an interpreter from
Nagasaki, in the south of Japan and the only city to trade with foreigners (Walworth
74).
At last, two Japanese were allowed to board the Susquehanna, which carried
Perry. One was the vice-governor of Uraga and the other was the interpreter.
However, Perry did not greet them and contacted them through men under him.
The American officers said to them that the reason they came to Japan was friendship,
and they had a letter from their president to the Japanese Emperor. However,
the vice-governor replied that Japanese law asked all foreign trade to be done
at Nagasaki. However, Perry rejected his demands, because Uraga
was closer to Tokyo where the Japanese government was located and was quite
unprotected by the government. If he had gone to Nagasaki, it would have taken
a long time to receive an answer from Tokyo and the Dutch might have disturbed
his mission. He demanded all of the Japanese to keep away from his ships
and refused any questions from the Japanese. He also threatened that,
if the Japanese did not follow, he would fire on them by these well-armed flagships.
The next day, Perry demanded that an official of rank next to the Emperor had
to receive the letter from the president of the United States. After three
days, the governor of Uraga told Perry that the Japanese government agreed to
receive the letter on shore (Walworth 74-78). At last, July 14, the prince of
Izu received the letter from the president. After this ceremony, Perry told
the Japanese he and his navy would withdraw within three days, but he would
return to receive the answer in the coming spring (Walworth 106-107).
The governor of Uraga and his interpreters gave Perry "a few boxes of eggs
and wicker cages," an indication that, his mission was successful.
The Japanese government had a difficult time replying to this aggressive letter
from the United States. According to Walworth, after Perry left Japan,
Lord Abe, the chief councilor to the Japanese government asked some members
of the government how to respond to this letter. The reply from the Prince
of Mito was; “The barbarians have been watching our country with greedy
eye for many years…if now we resort to a willfully dilatory method of procedure,
we shall gnaw our navels afterward when it will be of no use.” Other
members’ replies were also similar to this letter (148).
During the long discussion among the Japanese officers on this issue, the time
when Perry returned to Japan was coming. The Japanese recognized that
they had to respond to Perry’s demands with sincerity. In February
1854, Perry entered Uraga again. This time, he wanted to go to Tokyo.
However, the Japanese did not accept his offer and they persuaded the American
to come to Uraga (Walworth 158). After the Americans held
a party for the Japanese on their ship, the Japanese were becoming familiar
with the Americans. On March 7, at last, Perry was told that "the
next in rank to the Emperor" would meet to sign a treaty with the Americans
in new buildings near Yokohama. Although Perry accepted this offer,
he never failed to think deceit of the Japanese. He went there with all
the marines armed with muskets, swords and pistols. Moreover, 500 officers
and men in twenty-seven boats went ashore.
There, the chief commissioner gave Perry a long paper that showed the answer
to the President’s letter. In the answer, the Japanese agreed to
accept the American sailors who met with disaster at sea (175). They proposed
a port for trade and coal for their ships there. Perry told them that
he had to study it carefully and succeeded in negotiating with the Japanese
to open two ports instead of the Japanese offer of one. After making
this treaty, the Americans and the Japanese celebrated this occasion because
during these negotiations they developed the feeling of respect for each other.
One Japanese officer wrote in his diary, “Today the foreigners did not
bring their rifles and pistols, and appeared to be without apprehension.”
One American officer also wrote, “the Japanese officers appear far superior
in point of courtesy, decorum, and willingness….” In this celebration,
Perry gave an American flag to the Japanese officer who made the treaty with
him. Perry also apologized that he was too impolite to learn the Japanese
laws and might have made some trouble for the Japanese. Furthermore, the
Japanese invited the Americans to a party and served them many kinds of seafood
and many cups of sake to toast the agreement (192).
Perry’s mission was totally accomplished. When he finished his great
job, his Navy sent him a message: ”We shall never feel greater confidence,
or stronger pride, that while under your command.” After this expedition,
his accomplishment was widely admired by the Navy as “the most important
success of the American Navy in the field of diplomacy.” The Secretary
of the Navy sent a letter to celebrate his success of the mission. It
said, “You have won additional fame for yourself” and “reflected
new honor upon the very honorable service to which you belong, and we all hope,
have secured for your country, for commerce and for civilization, a triumph
the blessings of which may be enjoyed by generation yet unborn” (Walworth
228).
This news was spread among the people by the press. They
were very glad that Perry and his Navy received “imperishable honor”
through the pioneer spirit of the American character in the success of a mission
in which other Western countries had not been able to succeed (Walworth 230).
Perry and the U.S. changed “ barbarian” Japan. After this dramatic
event, through some ports that Perry opened, Western culture along with merchandise,
language, food, entertainment, etc., entered Japan. The Japanese people
began to accept them positively step by step. At the same time, the Japanese
people started opening their eyes toward other countries and made commercial
treaties with England, Russia and Netherlands. The Japanese government
sent its people abroad to such countries as England, Germany, and the United
States to study and learn military science, political science, education systems
and technology. However, since the Japanese realized the gap in military power
between Western countries and Japan, its government established the Institute
of Navy and studied military technology. In 1868, a new government was
established and made the first constitution refereed by Germany.
Unfortunately, after this era, the Japanese started dominating other Asian countries
just as the West did before. It was an ironical aspect of Perry’s opening
up of Japan to the world.
Works Cited
Duus, Peter. The Rise of Modern Japan. Boston: Houghton-Mifflin,
1976.
Fallows, James. "After Centuries of Japanese Isoation, a Fateful
Meeting of East and West."
{Smithsonian} July 1994: 20-33.
Friedrich, Otto. "How Japan Turned West." {Time} Aug.
1983: 37.
Graff, Henry F. Bluejackets with Perry in Japan. New York:
New York Public Library, 1952.
Lubor, Steven. "Smithsonian Goes to Japan." {The Public
Historian}. 1995. 33-45.
Walworth Arthur. Black Ships Off Japan. Hamden: Archon Books,1966.