Collection
Visit of Commodore Matthew C. Perry and the American Fleet to Uraga
| Visit of Commodore Matthew C. Perry and the American Fleet to Uraga |
| Handscroll, color on paper; 27.3 x 74.0 cm; dated Kaei 6 (1853); Important Cultural Property; Gift of the Ii Family |
Commodore Perry (1794–1858), who anchored his fleet off Uraga at the entrance to Edo Bay (present-day Tokyo Bay) on the third day of the sixth month of Kaei 6 (July 8, 1853), handed a letter from U.S. President Millard Fillmore to shogunate officials. This illustration shows Kurihama beach (in what is now the city of Yokosuka), where the letter exchanged hands. Japanese troops stand guard on the beach and at sea as Perry’s fleet advances toward the shore in a demonstration of power. Some 2,000 Hikone warriors on the beach can be identified by their red banners.
