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Japan’s Influence on Art in the 19th Century

Jina Moon

The official “Opening of Japan” occurred in 1852-1854 with the Perry Expedition to Japan. On July 8, 1853, Commodore Matthew Perry from the U.S. Navy sailed into the Tokyo harbor aboard the Susquehanna. Alongside 3 other warships, Perry arrived in Japan to force the secluded country to open up its trading port doors to the outside world.

In the 1850s, whaling was common and whaling ships leaving from U.S. ports in New England frequented the waters around the Japanese ports. U.S. ships were prohibited from even temporarily putting git to shore for supplies and shipwrecked sailors who were forced to look for

For several decades, whaling ships departing from New England ports had plied the rich fishery around Japan, particularly the waters near the northern island of Hokkaido. They were prohibited from putting in to shore even temporarily for supplies, however, and shipwrecked sailors who fell into Japanese hands were commonly subjected to har

On March 31, 1854, the representatives of Japan and the U.S. signed a historic treaty to achieve the goal of opening trade with Japan after Commodore Matthew Perry negotiated for many months. Up until this agreement was made, Japanese ports were inaccessible by most but the Dutch and Chinese traders. The United States had wanted to open up trade with Japan because of the opportunities that trade with the Far East offered as well as because the U.S. needed the ports to replenish coal and other supplies for the commercial whaling fleet.

On July 8, 1853, Commodore Matthew Perry of the United States Navy, commanding a squadron of two steamers and two sailing vessels, sailed into Tôkyô harbor aboard the frigate Susquehanna. Perry, on behalf of the U.S. government, forced Japan to enter into trade with the United States and demanded a treaty permitting trade and the opening of Japanese ports to U.S. merchant ships. This was the era when all Western powers were...