Scene of American Ambassador Harris’ Visit to the Edo Castle in 1857

Courtesy of Kurofune Museum

Imagine it is July 8, 1853. You are standing at the edge of Uraga Harbor near Edo, fearfully looking out at four American black-hulled steam frigates. Japan has been isolated from the rest of the world for over 200 years, and the shogun is determined to keep it that way. There is, however, a growing division between those who favor opening up to the West (kaikoku) and those who favor “expelling the barbarian” (joi).

You must try and persuade the leader of this invasion, one Commodore Matthew C. Perry, to divert to Nagasaki, Japan’s only port open to foreign vessels. If a battle were to begin in Uraga Harbor now, Perry’s “Black Ships” would likely decimate the Japanese defenses with their modern weaponry. It is your job to ensure the talks go smoothly. The shogun is counting on you.

You approach Perry, an imposing figure with scowling jowls and eyes drooping with thick bags. He wears a distinctive three-sided hat and an impressive uniform embroidered in gold and decked with brass buttons. Later you learn that Perry is a seasoned naval officer who was sent to Africa to stop the transatlantic slave trade and who successfully commanded the American fleet in the Mexican War. He is tenacious and shrewdly diplomatic. You marvel at the advanced technology he shows you on the tour of the ship.

Perry, however, refuses to carry on to Nagasaki, so on July 14 your delegation allows him to land in Kurihama, where he presents a letter from US President Millard Fillmore requesting diplomatic ties and commercial trade.

John Beaufain Irving Jr., Portrait Oil Painting of Matthew Calbraith Perry, 1868

Courtesy of U.S. Naval Academy Museum

When Perry returns for an answer in February of the following year—armed with twice as many ships—he demands negotiations be held. On March 31, 1854, he signs the Convention of Kanagawa, awarding most-favored-nation status for the US and two port openings at Shimoda and Hakodate.
In July 1856, three months after Perry dies from cirrhosis of the liver at age 63 (he liked his drink), Townsend Harris is chosen as the first Counsel General to the Empire of Japan. Harris’s true aim, however, is trade with China; Japan is considered more of a link.

With the shogun’s reluctant blessing, Harris opens the first US Consulate at Gyokusen-ji Temple in the city of Shimoda. After two difficult years, he successfully negotiates the “Treaty of Peace and Commerce” (better known as the Harris Treaty) on July 29, 1858. It is the first official trade arrangement between Japan and the US, but its terms are so unequal that it plagues both the shogunate and the Meiji government that follows.

Portrait of Somou Katoh, 1860

Courtesy of Somou Katoh Memorial Museum

Now fast-forward to 2008. The Edo-Tokyo Museum in Ryogoku is celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Harris Treaty with an impressive display of official papers, pictures, photos, memorabilia and period pieces gathered from far-flung sources.

Highlights include the black-and-white oil paintings by the German-born artist William Heine, who was commissioned to record Perry’s exploits. The Japanese woodblock prints of Perry’s portrait in various configurations are especially entertaining. Several images of Japanese people key to the negotiations are also included.

The exhibition has some English description, but not enough to fully enjoy the insights that it offers on this fascinating period of US-Japan relations. To get a richer picture, a trip to Shimoda on the tip of the Izu Peninsula is a must. There is the Kurofune (Black Ship) Museum, the Perry Road and important temples where treaties were signed. You can contemplate the vestiges of history while immersed in ancient hot spring waters.

Through June 22, Edo-Tokyo Museum. See exhibition listings (other areas) for details.