“First Landing at Gorahama” from Narrative of the Expedition of an American Squadron to the China Seas and Japan
Wilhelm Heine (1827-1885), Artist; P.S. Duval & Co., Lithographer
Published by Order of the Congress of the United States and A.O.P. Nicholson, Washington DC, 1856
Special Collections, King Library, Miami University, DS809.P47 v1
Published by order of the United States Congress, the three-volume series (two volumes presented) is a detailed report of Commodore Perry’s expedition to Japan from 1853 to 1854. In the course of this naval expedition, Perry forced the Japanese into an open maritime trade relationship with the United States for the first time. The Treaty of Kanagawa established these rights in 1854. An American interest in Japanese trade was rooted in the ongoing Western obsession with Asian export items and the potential for lucrative trade they promised. This illustrated book was published by the government as a celebration of America’s growing naval prowess and international standing. The illustration depicts the American perspective of the first landing on Japanese soil, at the port of Kurihama on July 14, 1853. Japan had enforced a policy of foreign seclusion since 1639. In this scene Admiral Perry delivers a letter from President Millard Fillmore requesting an end to that policy and the beginning of a trade relationship between the United States and Japan.