Benny Chen
Mrs. Shanks
Humanities 8S
January 6, 2016
How did the Japanese view Matthew C. Perry on his first arrival in Japan?
The first encounter is always the initiation of something new; and in the case of Commodore Perry and the expedition to Japan, it was the opening of Japanese gates. Commodore Mathew Calbraith Perry was sent to Japan, hoping to open up Japan’s closed gates to the rest of civilization. Revered as a hero in action by the Americans, the Japanese had other ideas about what Perry was. The Americans arrive out of the blue on the summer of 1853; while the Japanese had lived under a state of peace for over 200 years: making the arrival a shock to the Japanese, which in turn sent the whole of Japan into a state of chaos. Although Perry and his crew seemed great and mighty to the Americans, the Japanese viewed them simply as people from alien regions invading their sacred soil. Names such as “Hairy Barbarians” (derived from their abundance of hair on their bodies) or “The American Mikado”(from his mysteriousness and unwillingness to meet any low of rank) starting to be thrown around; and his image to the Japanese were then created out of these rumors. Although there are many perspectives of who exactly was, the Japanese has misinterpreted the purpose and nature of Commodore Perry and his men; as they believe Perry to be a frightening and ruthless barbarian instead of the truly affable man he is.
The first place you can see the Japanese view towards Commodore Perry and his crew is from frightened attitude the Japanese possessed after witnessing the squadron of Perry. When Perry first arrived at Edo Bay, the whole Japanese region was in Chaos. As locals started to run around spreading rumors about the “Black Ships of the Evil Man”, villagers from the coastal areas were in horror and evacuated immediately. Even the Shogun, who was supposed to be the “barbarian expelling generalissimo” couldn’t stand the shocking news as he has never experienced an invasion like circumstance. As the Japanese were not prepared for battle, they immediately prepared their troops for battle under the chance of initiating war (not knowing that Perry came in peace). All Japanese Daimyo’s ordered to preparing their troops and commanded that all weapons are to be ready at any time; getting ready to fight a terrifying beast from the outside world.
Another place you can see the Japanese’s reaction to Perry is from the paintings made by Japanese artists buzzing the area. The following day of Perry’s arrival, many curious artists came to the scene and created their own interpretations of the fearful event. Though they all have various purposes, they are all similar in the manner of being exaggerations of Perry and his men due to them being apprehensive about the aliens. Paintings like portraits of the Commodore and the encounter between the two unfamiliar nations were depicted in the Japanese form of view; giving us paintings of very hairy men dressed in funny clothes; yet having a ruthless appearance at the same time. One particular painting that has survived the ages portrays the commodore as an eerie-looking old man with battle scars all over. It also includes a sword held in Perry’s hand, which probably symbolizes the fact that the Japanese do not believe Perry to have come in peace. As you can see, theses depictions clearly represent the Japanese point of view on Perry’s arrival to Japan; and evidentially support the fact that the Japanese were indeed quite scared of the actually quite friendly Commodore.
An instance of when Commodore Perry was viewed very differently across the different cultures was when he made the "majestic" march into the temporary negotiation house with the fine suit, the black bodyguards, and the precision drilled soldiers marching at his side. To the Americans and the west, this would have been a magnificent march that would have been told of in stories for years to come; with Perry and his men's masculinity, etiquette in performance, and the grandness of the march. However, the Japanese viewed the march simply as a comical show; as in their eyes they merely saw funny looking tall people dressed in hilarious dresses; marching in very accurate lines with strange yet pleasant music playing in the background. This; of course; is reasonable for these Japanese as to them, the weird (to Americans) "dresses" and simple yet artistic small performances such as the tea ceremony counts as a gesture of respect, self control, and tranquility; the things they see in people worthy of respect. In the 21st century, we see that both are respected in their own ways, but generally, huge parades with majestic music and grand costumes come off as a celebration of some kind; definitely more impressive than any slow quiet tea ceremony.