# American Diplomacy in the Orient/Chapter V

Published in 1903
V
THE OPENING OF JAPAN
The march of events in the first half of the nineteenth century made it clear that Japan could not long continue the policy of seclusion which it had successfully maintained for two centuries. That policy had, however, served a useful purpose both for Japan and China. We have seen that it had been adopted because of the arrogant and aggressive conduct of the European nations in their early intercourse. Following the maritime discoveries of the fifteenth century, the commercial nations had shown an utter disregard of the proprietary rights of the people of the East. Great Britain, France, Spain, Portugal, Holland, and Russia had at their pleasure appropriated large areas of territory both on the continent of Asia and the islands of the Pacific.
The remoteness of China and Japan from Europe made them the last prey of the spoilers. The observant traveler and savant Humboldt, in visiting the Isthmus of Panama a hundred years ago, impressed with its geographic influence, wrote: "This neck of land, the barrier against the waves of the Atlantic Ocean, has been for many ages the bulwark of the independence of China and Japan." But in addition ​to their distance from Europe, the early resolution of hese nations to exclude all foreigners from a lodgment on their territory and from all but the least possible intercourse, operated favorably for the preservation of their autonomy. During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries the principles of international law were undergoing a formative process, and little respect was paid to the rights of nations which could not be enforced by the sword. In the nineteenth century a higher regard was beginning to be shown towards weaker nations, and these two empires could then with greater safety to their independence permit foreign intercourse.
The opening of Japan was a natural sequence of the partial unlocking of the doors of China by British arms. England, France, and Russia were the European nations most interested in bringing about that result. But the development of commerce in the Pacific, as the middle of the century approached, pointed unmistakably to the young republic of North America as the power destined to bring about that important event. The English historian Creasy, in tracing the rapid growth of the United States and its recent great development on the Pacific coast, writing in 1851, predicted the forcible opening of Japan by this government, and, misinterpreting its spirit, which he characterized as "bold, intrusive, and unscrupulous," he added: "America will scarcely imitate the forbearance shown by England at the end of our late war with the Celestial Empire." He looked forward to changes of great magnitude in the Orient to be brought about ​through the influence of the United States, and recalled the words of De Tocqueville that the growing power of this commonwealth was a new factor in the world, the significance of which even the imagination could not grasp.
About the same time another diviner was forecasting the horoscope of the young nation. William H. Seward, then a senator in the Congress of the United States, was urging upon that body the imperative necessity, in the interest of American commerce, of more accurate surveys of the North Pacific Ocean. In a speech which was notable for its wide research, its eloquence, and its breadth of statesmanship, he referred to the great future which he saw was to be realized in the commercial intercourse of the United States through its newly acquired possessions on the Pacific slope, the Hawaiian Islands, and the certain opening of Japan and China. He stated that the relations with Europe, which were then so extensive and constantly increasing, would in time diminish and lose their importance, and that the great development of the republic was to be on the other side of the continent; and he thereupon uttered this famous prediction: "The Pacific Ocean, its shores, its islands, and the vast regions beyond, will become the chief theatre of events in the world's great Hereafter." Commerce, under the benign influence of peace, was to bring about this great transformation, when "the better passions of mankind will soon have their development in the new theatre of human activity."
​During the first half of the century the governments of Great Britain, Russia, and France had made efforts, through the visits of their naval vessels, to communicate with the central government of Japan, and to secure some relaxation of its strict policy of seclusion, but all these attempts had proved futile. As the ultimate success was due to the efforts of the United States, it will be well to refer to them in some detail.
The first American vessel to visit Japan was the Eliza, Captain Stewart, in 1797. Holland being at that time at war with Great Britain, the Eliza was chartered by the Dutch East India Company to make the annual visit allowed by the Japanese regulations to the factory on the island of Deshima, in the harbor of Nagasaki. Her arrival was a matter of great perplexity to the Japanese—a vessel in the employ of the Dutch, carrying an unknown flag, with a crew speaking English, but belonging to a new country which had another king or ruler than the English. After lengthy explanations and considerable delay she was admitted to the harbor and her cargo discharged. During the continuance of the war other American vessels visited Nagasaki under similar charters. A few years later Captain Stewart appeared at Nagasaki, with a cargo on his own account, and sought to open trade, but his request was refused and he was sent away.
No further serious attempt was made by Americans ​at intercourse with the Japanese till 1837, when an exedition was organized at Macao, China, having a three-fold aspect—humanity, religion, and commerce. The strong currents about the coasts of Japan and adverse winds not infrequently carried the natives in their small vessels out upon the ocean and sometimes as far as the American continent. This fact gives color to the claim sometimes advanced that the civilization of the Mexican Indians had its origin in Japan. A party of seven shipwrecked Japanese had been picked up on the coast of British Columbia, and sent by the Hudson's Bay Company across the American continent and the Atlantic Ocean to London, and by the British East India Company brought to Macao, to be forwarded, if opportunity offered, to their native land. One of the leading American mercantile firms engaged in the Canton trade, Olyphant & Co., conceived the idea that the event might be taken advantage of to induce the Japanese government to relax its rules as to foreign intercourse, and they fitted out the Morrison, a vessel named after the first English missionary to China, to carry back the shipwrecked Japanese. In the party were the German missionary, Chinese scholar, and historian, Dr. Gutzlaff, ​the American medical missionary, Dr. Peter Parker, and Rev. S. Wells Williams, the last two being representatives of the American Board of Missions. With them also went Mr. King, a member of the firm, and his wife.
To divest the expedition of every appearance of a hostile character, the armament of cannon and small arms invariably carried by trading vessels of that period was removed. Quite an attractive collection of presents for the authorities was taken—a globe, a telescope, a barometer, a set of American coins, American books of science, history, etc., and a painting of Washington. Memorials or papers were prepared in the Chinese language, setting forth as the object of the expedition the return of the shipwrecked Japanese and the delivery of the presents. They announced that they had on board a physician, with medicines and instruments, prepared to cure the sick gratuitously, and they also asked the privilege of staying long enough to explain the meaning of the books which they brought. Their memorials further gave some account of the history and resources of the United States and stated that its policy was to establish peaceful commerce and that it was opposed to colonies. The narrative adds that the vessel also contained a small stock of goods, in order to be prepared "to take advantage of any opening" that might offer.
In place of proceeding to Nagasaki, which was well known to be the only port at which foreign intercourse was allowed, the vessel sailed direct to the Bay of Yedo, on which the capital was located. On entering the bay she was immediately surrounded by a large number of ​armed boats, and hardly had she dropped anchor, before a fire was opened upon her from the cannon of the forts. To save themselves and the vessel from destruction, the only course seemed to be a speedy departure. Accordingly they weighed anchor and put to sea, pursued by boats, from which small cannon were fired. Several attempts to land along the coast were repulsed, and the course of the vessel was directed to the port of Kagoshima, the seat of government of the powerful prince of Satsuma. Here a hostile reception similar to that in the Bay of Yedo was extended to them, and nothing remained for them to do but to return to Macao, which they did without having even set foot on shore.
The second attempt of an American vessel to hold intercourse was only a little less successful. The Manhattan, of Sag Harbor, Captain Cooper, in 1845, while sailing through Japanese seas, found on a small barren island eleven shipwrecked Japanese, and soon afterwards he rescued from a disabled junk eleven more. The captain decided to take them to the Bay of Yedo and deliver them to the authorities, his object being "to impress the government with the civilization of the United States and its friendly disposition towards the emperor and the Japanese people." He touched on the coast of the island of Niphon, and had messengers dispatched to the emperor to inform him of his coming and the object of his visit. On his arrival in the bay he was kindly received and allowed to anchor within a ​furlong of the city of Yedo. The ship was surrounded by three cordons of boats, one hundred feet apart, to the number of nearly one thousand, and officers were kept constantly on the ship, by whom the captain was told that none of the crew would be allowed to land, and that if any of them attempted it they would be killed.
The vessel was permitted to remain for four days, during which time the shipwrecked Japanese were put ashore, and the ship supplied with fresh provisions and water. The governor of Yedo told the captain that "the only reason he was allowed to remain in the waters of Japan was because the emperor felt assured that he could not be a bad-hearted foreigner by his having come so far out of his way to bring poor people to their native country, who were wholly strangers to him." When the captain suggested that he might find other shipwrecked mariners and would bring them back, the governor said, "Carry them to some Dutch port, but never come to Japan again;" and added that the emperor would prefer to have them abandoned than that strangers should visit his dominions.
The government of the United States was on the alert to second the efforts of private American enterprise whenever opportunity should offer. When, in 1832, Mr. Roberts was dispatched to negotiate treaties with Siam and Muscat, he was furnished with letters of credence to the emperor of Japan also, and was instructed, if he found "the prospect favorable," to visit that empire and seek to establish official relations. But the situation at that time did not encourage the attempt. ​When he departed from Washington on his second visit to the Orient in 1835, to exchange the ratifications of his treaties with Muscat and Siam, he was furnished with a letter from President Jackson to the emperor of Japan in the Dutch and Latin languages, and he was instructed by the Secretary of State to proceed to Japan as soon as his duties were discharged in the two former countries and seek to open negotiations. His instructions stated that, "as the Dutch have their factory at Nagasaki and might feel themselves interested in thwarting your mission, it is recommended that, if permitted, you should enter some other port nearer to the seat of government."
Mr. Roberts carried with him for Japan a considerable collection of presents, among which were a repeating gold watch with a heavy gold chain eight feet long, a sabre, rifle, shot-gun and pair of pistols, an assortment of broadcloth, cut glass, a musical box, maps, a set of United States coins, prints of United States naval victories, and ten Merino sheep of the finest wool, two bucks and eight ewes. He was in addition authorized, in case of effecting a treaty, to promise presents to the value of $10,000. Owing to his untimely death at Macao in 1836, the negotiations contemplated were never attempted, and the squadron which bore him to the East returned to the United States without touching at any Japanese port.
In this connection it may be mentioned that in 1849 ​the American consul at Singapore, Mr. J. Balestier, was authorized to negotiate a commercial treaty with the sultan of Borneo. He sailed from Canton in April, 1850, in the United States naval vessel Plymouth, accompanied by Rev. Mr. Dean, an American missionary "well versed in the Chinese and Siamese languages," as secretary and interpreter. After touching at ports of Annam and Siam to execute commissions of his government, he succeeded without much difficulty in making a treaty with the sultan of Borneo authorizing commercial intercourse with that island.
In 1845 Mr. Pratt, a member of Congress from New York, introduced a resolution in the House, recommending that immediate measures be taken for effecting commercial arrangements with Japan and Korea. The resolution was accompanied by a memorandum giving various reasons for its adoption, among which were the following,—that the failure of other nations is no reason why we should not make "a vigorous effort now," and that "the day and the hour have now arrived for turning the enterprise of our merchants and seamen into the harbors and markets of those long secluded countries." The introduction of this resolution was followed within three months by an instruction to the commander of the naval squadron on the East India station. He was informed that Mr. Everett, our diplomatic representative in China, possessed letters of credence to Japan, and the commander was instructed "to ascertain if the ports of Japan are accessible;" that if ​Mr. Everett was inclined to make the attempt to gain access thereto, he was to hold his squadron at his disposition for that purpose; and should Mr. Everett decline, he himself might, if he saw fit, persevere in the design.
Under these instructions Mr. Everett transferred his letter of credence to Commodore Biddle, who sailed from Macao with two naval vessels, and anchored in the Bay of Yedo, July 20, 1846. He was at once surrounded by a cordon composed of a great multitude of boats, and was waited upon by a Japanese official to inquire the object of his coming. The commodore stated that it was to ascertain whether Japan had opened her ports and was disposed to make a treaty with the United States. He was asked to reduce this to writing, which was done, and the officer said that within a few days an answer would be received from the emperor, and that in the meanwhile none of the crew would be permitted to land. On the 27th an answer was delivered by the Japanese officer, in which it was stated that foreigners could only be received at Nagasaki, that no treaty with the United States would be made, and that the vessels must depart as quickly as possible and not come back any more to Japan. The commodore received a blow or a push from a Japanese soldier during the delivery of the letter, for which apology was made by the Japanese officials and an assurance given that the soldier should be punished, but the incident greatly injured the prestige of the Americans in the estimation of the Japanese people.
The squadron sailed away, and Mr. Everett reported ​to the Secretary of State that the document which was handed to Commodore Biddle as the reply of the emperor had been prepared with an evidently studied and intentional disregard of the rules of courtesy that are usually observed in the written intercourse of nations; that it was addressed to no one, and was without signature or date; and that he considered it as an additional proof of the extreme reluctance of the Japanese to enter into commercial relations with foreigners. He further reported that Commodore Biddle did not seem to have opened the negotiations with discretion, and that he had placed the subject in a rather less favorable position than that in which it stood before.
Dr. Parker, in charge of the legation at Canton, transmitted to the Secretary of State in 1848 an account of the imprisonment and harsh treatment by the Japanese of the surviving members of the crew of the American whaler Lawrence, wrecked on the Japanese coast, and added that from previous instructions it was evident that the President was fully impressed with the expediency of negotiating a treaty with Japan to secure at least "humane treatment" to shipwrecked American sailors. This was followed the same year by information received at Canton through the Dutch consul that fifteen American sailors from another whaling vessel—the Lagoda—were held as prisoners by the Japanese. This led the commander of the American East India squadron to send a vessel to Japan to demand their surrender. Commander Glynn, with the Preble, went to Nagasaki in 1849, and, regardless of the rules which required foreign vessels to anchor down the bay, sailed ​up into the inner harbor, and at once put himself in communication with the governor. After some equivocation and delay the imprisoned seamen were delivered up, and the Preble rejoined the squadron.
The sailors both from the Lawrence and the Lagoda made detailed statements of their treatment while held as prisoners by the Japanese, which showed that they had suffered great indignity and cruelty. They alleged that they had been required to trample and spit upon the Christian cross; that they had been in some instances shut up in narrow cages, put in stocks, exposed to unnecessary hardships and severe weather, and that as a consequence some of their number had died. These accounts had much to do with the final resolution of the government of the United States to force a treaty upon Japan. And yet it is not certain that the Japanese government authorized any severe or cruel treatment. In order to carry out its policy of rigid exclusion of foreigners, it caused all who were found on its coasts to be arrested and held as prisoners. The orders were to send them to Nagasaki, from which port they were taken out of the country by Dutch vessels as soon as opportunity occurred. If indignity or cruelty was inflicted, it was caused rather by the zeal of subordinates than by order of the government.
About the year 1850 all the waters around Japan were swarming with American whalers in quest of their prey. Not less than eighty-six such vessels were counted by a Japanese observer that year as passing a single point. It was felt by them to be a great hardship that ​they could not resort to Japanese harbors in distress or for water and supplies. It was a still greater cause of complaint that the shipwrecked sailors were inhospitably and cruelly treated. Their complaints were being heard at Washington. Added to this, the commercial demands were becoming urgent. The discovery of gold in California and the sudden development of the Pacific coast possessions led to a projected steamship line to China from San Francisco. To this end ports of deposit for coal and other supplies in Japan were felt to be a necessity. Hence the growing conviction had crystallized into a resolution on the part of the government that extraordinary effort must be made to force the opening of one or more Japanese harbors and induce the empire to adopt a more liberal policy toward foreigners.
The subject had long attracted the attention of thoughtful people, and various suggestions had been made with that end in view. Among others, Commodore Glynn, who in the Preble had secured the release of the last crew of shipwrecked sailors, and had returned to Washington, held a conference with President Fillmore, and submitted to him written suggestions for such an expedition. The subject was one in which Mr. Webster, again Secretary of State, had taken a deep interest. Cabinet councils were held, and it was decided that a strong squadron should be sent to Japan, and that in a more formal and decided manner a demand should be made for hospitable treatment to American sailors in distress, and for some modification of the existing regulations as to intercourse and trade.
Commodore Aulick was selected for the important ​and delicate task, and was for this purpose assigned to the East India station. His full powers to negotiate a treaty, his instructions signed by Mr. Webster, and the President's letter to the emperor of Japan, bear date of June 10, 1851, and he sailed the following month. When he reached China en route he received a letter from the Secretary of the Navy ordering his recall. It had in the interval been determined to intrust the mission to Commodore Matthew Calbraith Perry,—an officer who had attained distinction in the navy, and who had shown qualities which it was thought peculiarly fitted him to carry to success this undertaking, of such moment to the United States and to mankind, and one in the accomplishment of which officers of the American and European navies had thus far failed. Perry came of sailor stock, his father having served in the Revolutionary navy, and his brother Oliver being the hero of the victory on Lake Erie in 1813. At the time of his appointment to the mission he was fifty-eight years of age.
He was given ample time to make his preparations, and great freedom in the selection of his subordinates. America and Europe were searched for publications which would be of service to the expedition. The charts used were obtained chiefly from Holland, for which the government paid $30,000. Van Siebold's "Archiv" was obtained at a cost of $503, and a great variety of books on Japan were collected. The ​commodore made visits to New York, Boston, and New Bedford to confer with captains of whaling vessels familiar with Japanese waters and merchants interested in the commerce of the East. Prominent manufacturers were also visited to secure specimens of the latest im-provements in the arts and industries. Scientists, interpreters, and such other persons as could promote the objects of the expedition were secured.
Frequent interviews were held by the commodore with the President, Secretary Webster, and the Secretary of the Navy. The written instructions were carefully prepared by Mr. Webster, but he died before the commodore sailed, and they bear the signature of ad interim Secretary Conrad. The objects of the expedition were stated to be, first, protection for our shipwrecked sailors; second, the opening of the ports for the entry of vessels to refit and obtain coal; and third, the entry of ports for trade. The letter of President Fillmore to the emperor of Japan was more elaborate than the one carried by Commodore Aulick, and is countersigned by Edward Everett, who had become Secretary of State.
No secret was made of the expedition. The official instructions were published, and the preparations were openly conducted. Both in America and Europe they were the topic of newspaper comment and general discussion. The prevailing feeling was of good-will for the expedition, but grave doubts were often expressed as to its success. The good offices of the government of Holland were solicited by Secretary Webster, to pave ​the way, through the Dutch factory at Deshima, for a friendly reception by the Japanese court. The Dutch government acted favorably upon the request, and directed its East India authorities to send instructions to that end, but it appears that Commodore Perry reached Japan and concluded his mission before the instructions were received at Deshima. It is also known that upon the first public intimation of the expedition, the Dutch government prepared a draft of a treaty and forwarded it to Nagasaki, with a view to anticipate the work of Commodore Perry, but the Japanese government refused to consider it.
The preparations for the voyage, made with care and deliberation, were finally concluded, and the President, accompanied by members of his cabinet and a distinguished company, paid a visit to Annapolis to bid the commodore farewell. The day before he put to sea a dinner was given him in Washington by a large number of his friends and well-wishers, including the Secretary of State and other cabinet officers, senators, members of Congress, and prominent citizens, at which, in response to various queries, the commodore gave some indication of his plans and proposed operations. One of the members of the dinner party, writing many years after the event, said: "It was apparent that all present were well convinced that the Commodore fully comprehended the difficulties and the delicate character of the work before him." On November 24, 1852, he sailed from Norfolk and passed the capes on his long voyage to open the doors of the Land of the Rising Sun.
​At Canton he took on board Dr. S. Wells Williams as chief interpreter, received a considerable addition to his squadron from the East India station, and pressed on to Japan. Early on the morning of July 8, 1853, the bold promontory of Idsu rising loftily through the mist out of the sea indicated that the Bay of Yedo was near at hand. Everything was stir and bustle on shipboard. The commodore's report says that signals were given to the squadron, and instantly the decks were cleared for action, the guns placed in position and shotted, the ammunition arranged, the small arms made ready, sentinels and men at their posts, and, in short, all the preparations made, usual before meeting an enemy. As they entered the beautiful bay, the rising sun dispelled the mists, and revealed a charming panorama of busy shipping and lovely landscape, with the majestic snow-capped Fujiyama towering in the distance.
Moving steadily and quietly forward, with all sails furled, the squadron kept on its way, heedless of signals from junks and boats swarming the waters, passed the forts, and not until well within the bay did the vessels drop anchor off Uraga. It was the first time a steam vessel had ever been seen in Japanese waters. The Susquehanna, the flagship, was a new steam frigate of the most advanced type, both in model, machinery, and size, recently launched with much enthusiasm at the Philadelphia navy yard. As the vessels came quietly up the bay in the face of a strong head wind, with no sails set, and belching forth from their funnels volumes ​of black smoke, they spread consternation among the Japanese, who for the first time looked upon such a spectacle, to them an omen of frightful portent. Among the common people of that era there was sung a popular ballad, a legend of the "Black Ships" which were to bring destruction to their nation, a stanza of which runs as follows:—
Through a black night of cloud and rain, The Black Ship plies her way— An alien thing of evil mien— Across the waters gray.
And slowly floating onward go
These Black Ships, wave-tossed to and fro.
Just as the vessels of the squadron came to anchor, at five o'clock in the evening, two signal guns were fired and a rocket shot up high in air from a neighboring fort. It was the signal to the inhabitants of the capital that the expected and feared strangers had arrived, of whose coming they had received an intimation through the Dutch at Deshima. A native writer chronicles the effect of this signal. "The popular commotion in Yedo at the news of a 'foreign invasion' was beyond description. The whole city was in an uproar. In all directions were seen mothers flying with children in their arms, and men with mothers on their backs. Rumors of an immediate action, exaggerated each time they were communicated from mouth to mouth, added horror to the horror-stricken. The tramp of war-horses, the clatter of armed warriors, the noise of carts, the parade of firemen, the incessant tolling of bells, the shrieks of women, the cries of children, dinning ​all the streets of a city of more than a million souls, made confusion worse confounded."
Immediately after the ships anchored they were surrounded by numerous boats, and many of their inmates attempted to get on board, but, in accordance with previous instructions, they were not allowed. One of the most conspicuous of the boats, in which was apparently a person of distinction, was permitted alongside the flagship. Its occupant proved to be the vice-governor of Uraga, who asked to see the commander of the squadron. He was told the commander would confer with no one except a functionary of the highest rank. This was in line with the course which Perry had marked out for himself, to wit, to demand as a right, not solicit as a favor, those acts of courtesy due from one civilized nation to another; to disregard the acts and threats of the authorities, if in the least respect in conflict with the dignity of the American flag; to practice a little of Japanese diplomacy by allowing no one on board the ships except officers having business, and they only on the flagship; and by personally conferring with no one except an official of the highest rank in the empire.
Hence the vice-governor was received by the commodore's aide. His mission was to inquire the object of the visit, and to say that business with foreigners could be transacted only at Nagasaki, and that the ships must go there. It was explained that the squadron had come on a friendly mission to Japan, with a letter from the President of the United States to the emperor; that the ​commander desired to have an interview with a dignitary of the highest rank to arrange for the delivery of the letter; that he expected it to be received where he then was; and that he would not go to Nagasaki, but would remain at Uraga because it was near the capital.
In the interview the vice-governor was told that the commander would suffer no indignity to be offered the squadron during its stay, and that if the guard boats which were collecting about the ships were not sent away, they would be dispersed by force. The vice-governor at once went to the gangway and gave an order, with the result that the guard boats disappeared, and nothing more was seen of them while the vessels remained. He soon took leave, saying that an officer of higher rank would come from the city the next day.
On the following morning the governor of Uraga came on board. Again the commodore declined to receive him in person, but designated two of his commanders to meet him. A long interview took place, in which the governor made the same declarations as to Nagasaki and the departure of the squadron as had been communicated the day before, and was met by the same answer, only in more decisive language. Finally he was told that if the Japanese government did not appoint a suitable person to receive the documents addressed to the emperor, the commodore himself would have to go on shore with a sufficient force to deliver them in person. He was also shown the President's letter and the commodore's credentials "encased in magnificent boxes which had been prepared at Washington, the exquisite workmanship and costliness of ​which evidently surprised his excellency." He then said that he would return to the city, and that within four days an answer might be expected from the court of Yedo.
On the morning of that day a party from each ship was set to work to make a survey of the harbor. The governor inquired what these boats were doing, and, on being informed, replied that it was against the Japanese law to allow such examinations. The answer given him was that the American laws commanded such surveys and that the surveying parties were as much bound to obey the American laws as the governor was to obey the Japanese laws. No further objection was made, and the surveys continued from day to day.
The commodore reports that "the following day, the 10th, was Sunday, and no communication was had with the Japanese authorities." Religious services were held, according to the commodore's invariable custom, and all requests for admission to the ship were declined. On Monday a surveying party, convoyed by one of the steamers, moved farther up the bay, much nearer to Yedo. The commodore intimated that such a movement might hurry the answer from the court. This action brought the governor again on board to ask its object, and he was told that if the President's letter was not received during the present visit it would be necessary to return the next spring with a much larger fleet, and the surveying boat was seeking for a better anchorage nearer the city. The governor then went away, promising to return on the day fixed for the answer from the court.
​On the 12th of July the governor came on board, and stated that it had been arranged that a high officer would be nominated to receive the President's letter, and a building was being erected on shore for the place of reception, but he added that no reply to the letter could be given at that place, but one would be transmitted to Nagasaki, through the Dutch or Chinese superintendents. As soon as this answer was made known to Perry, he wrote the following memorandum:—
"The commander-in-chief will not go to Nagasaki, and will receive no communication through the Dutch or Chinese.
"He has a letter from the President of the United States to deliver to the emperor of Japan or to his secretary of foreign affairs, and he will deliver the original to none other; if this friendly letter of the President to the emperor is not received and duly replied to, he shall consider his country insulted, and will not hold himself accountable for the consequences.
"He expects a reply of some sort in a few days, and he will receive such reply nowhere but in this neighborhood."
After being translated into Dutch the memorandum was handed to the governor, and he departed. In the afternoon he returned to the ship, and said that a very distinguished personage, properly accredited by the emperor, would be appointed to receive the commander on shore the day after the morrow. The day following he came to the flagship with the credentials of the plenipotentiary and a certificate from the court that he was ​"of very high rank, equal to that of the lord admiral." It was arranged that the ceremony of reception of the President's letter should occur the following forenoon.
On the morning of July 14, the squadron took position in front of the place fixed for the meeting, within easy cannon range. The governor of Uraga, acting as master of ceremonies, and another Japanese official, escorted by a number of imperial boats, came off to the flagship to accompany the commodore and suite to the hall of reception. As the latter stepped into his barge a salute was fired from the squadron in his honor. This was the first time since his arrival that he had been seen by the Japanese. His escort consisted of all the officers who could be spared from the ships and of about three hundred sailors and marines, with two bands of music. About the landing place and the reception hall were stationed five thousand Japanese soldiers, infantry and cavalry. On landing the commodore was preceded by the Japanese master of ceremonies and one of the squadron captains, the sailors and marines, two stalwart sailors who bore the American flag and the broad pennant, followed by two boys tastefully dressed for the occasion bearing the boxes containing the President's letter and the credentials. Then came the commodore accompanied on either side by a tall, well-formed, heavily armed negro as a bodyguard. The official narrative says "all this, of course, was but for effect."
On entering the hall the two princes designated by the emperor to receive the documents arose and saluted the commodore with low bows, their names being ​pronounced by the interpreters. The letters were then brought forward by the boys, the gold boxes opened by the two negroes, the letter and the credentials, engrossed on vellum, tastefully bound, with seals attached by gold chains, were taken out and held up before the princes, and then laid upon the lid of the scarlet lacquered box which the Japanese had prepared for their reception. The governor then kneeling replaced the documents in their cases and deposited them in the lacquered box. All this was done in silence, not a word being spoken.
The commodore then directed his interpreter to explain to the Japanese interpreter the character of the documents. After this was done, the governor upon his knees received from Prince Iwami a roll, with which he passed over to the commodore, and again falling upon his knees delivered it to him. It was a receipt signed by the Japanese princes, with a statement that no further business could be transacted at Uraga, but at Nagasaki, and that the fleet would be expected to depart. After a few minutes' silence, the commodore told the interpreter to inform the Japanese that in view of the importance of the business to be considered, he would leave in two or three days, but that he would return to the same place the following spring to receive the answer of the emperor. The governor asked if the commodore would return with all his vessels. "All of them," answered the commodore, "and probably more, as these are only a portion of the squadron." And thus closed the reception, which was of the most formal character possible, the Japanese ​princes never having spoken a word, and the whole ceremony lasting less than half an hour.
The Americans went back to their ships, enlivened by national airs from the bands, feeling highly gratified at what had been accomplished. They had received different treatment from any foreigners who had visited Japan for two centuries. They had commanded respect and secured intercourse, upon the basis of equality. They held direct communication with the highest imperial authorities, without the interposition of the Dutch at Nagasaki. They disregarded or caused to be withdrawn local regulations, which were derogatory to the dignity of their nation. On the other hand, while exhibiting firmness as to their rights, they showed the utmost regard for the sovereignty and rights of the Japanese. The crews of the vessels were not permitted to go on shore. No native was insulted or maltreated; no woman was outraged; no property was taken; no police regulation was violated—practices quite common on the part of the crews of other foreign ships.
The afternoon following the reception the squadron moved ten miles farther up the bay toward Yedo, anchored, took soundings, and made surveys. On the same day the commodore addressed a letter to the emperor, informing him of his intended departure and his expected return in the spring. On the 17th, having been in the bay eight days, the ships passed down as they had entered, under steam with sails furled, and put to sea. A momentous subject had been submitted to the imperial government for decision, and the American commander withdrew his ships in order that there ​should be no appearance of coercion during its discussion and determination.
As soon as the Americans had departed, the court of Yedo addressed itself to the problem before it. Copies of the President's letter to the emperor, which set forth the terms of the treaty desired, were sent to the daimios and principal dignitaries of the empire, and their opinions requested. At the same time warlike preparations were set on foot. Strong forts were erected about the bay to protect the city of Yedo. Bells from the monasteries and metal articles of luxury contributed by the wealthy families were cast into cannon. Three hundred thousand patriot soldiers flocked to the capital to save it from desecration by the hated foreigners. New fear was awakened by the appearance of a Russian admiral at Nagasaki within two months after Perry's departure, making demand for intercourse and treaty rights. The priests of the national religion were commanded to offer up prayers for the sweeping away of the barbarians.
The commodore had gone to China to recruit and reinforce his squadron, and to look after American interests in that empire imperiled by the civil war known as the Taiping rebellion, which was threatening the overthrow of the reigning dynasty. Our minister to the country was very persistent in his request that the naval force should be retained in Chinese waters, but Perry was too much impressed with the importance of his mission to Japan to be diverted by the civil war in ​China. Besides, he did not think it wise for the United States to become embroiled in that contest.
Other reasons made him feel that he should hasten his return to Japan. He had heard of the visit of the Russian admiral to Nagasaki, and he knew that the latter's fleet was lying in the river at Shanghai. A French squadron was also in Chinese waters, and the commander put to sea from Macao, where Perry then was, with his destination a mystery. The latter feared there was danger that the fruit, the seed of which he had sown at Yedo with so much care, might be gathered by others, and he determined to shorten his stay in China and take the risks of a winter passage to Japan.
Stopping on his way at the Lew Chew (Loo-Choo) Islands, he was overtaken by a letter from the governor of the Dutch East Indies, notifying him that the emperor of Japan had died since his departure, and conveying the request of the imperial government that he would delay his return beyond the time fixed by him, as no business could be transacted until the period of court mourning was over. The commodore expressed his regret at the sad intelligence, but said that he felt sure the present rulers of Japan had become so well satisfied of the friendly intentions of the President that they would not be disposed to delay an understanding between the two nations. And he continued on his journey.
The fleet, now more than double its size on the first visit, and when fully assembled numbering ten vessels, entered the Bay of Yedo February 12, 1854, some time ​in advance of the date fixed for its return. It was an impressive sight as it moved up the bay. No such martial array had ever been seen in Japanese waters. It was an unmistakable evidence of the earnestness of the United States. The city of Uraga was passed, no heed being paid to the government junks from which officials sought to communicate, and not until they had left behind them the reception place of the President's letter, and had reached the distance of twelve miles above Uraga, did they come to anchor.
The government boats, which had been waived aside in the lower bay, approached with a high Japanese official and interpreters. They were received by one of the captains designated by the commodore, he pursuing the policy of his last visit of holding intercourse only with a dignitary of equal rank specially nominated by the emperor. The official stated that the imperial orders were that the fleet should be treated with the utmost kindness, and that commissioners had been appointed to negotiate with "the Admiral." He said that the place fixed by the emperor for the conference was at Kamakura, in the outer bay. The commodore instructed his representative to reply that he would not return to the lower bay, and that if the commissioners were not willing to treat with him opposite his present anchorage, he would proceed with the fleet to Yedo and ask to negotiate there.
Some time was spent in daily visits to the flagship, discussing the place of meeting. The fact was that the court of Yedo had decided to make the best terms possible with the foreign commander, and to comply at ​least partially with the terms of the President's letter; and the only object of these discussions as to the locality for the negotiations was to get the fleet as far away from the capital as possible. The commodore, however, was firm, and it was arranged that the place of meeting should be near the anchorage, at the site of the present city of Yokohama.
The first conference took place March 8, but meanwhile the credentials of the chief Japanese plenipotentiary had been submitted to the commodore and found satisfactory. As on the former visit, a special house had been erected for the conferences. On the part of the Japanese there was no such military display as on the occasion of the delivery of the President's letter, only a small guard being present. But the commodore, true to his purpose of impressing the Japanese with the importance of the mission, came on shore in much the same style as on his first landing, with a full detail of officers and marines and to the sound of martial music and salutes in honor of the emperor, the Japanese plenipotentiary, and himself.
It was found that to the imperial plenipotentiary four other princes and persons of high rank had been added to complete the commission. After the necessary introductions, the reply to the President's letter was submitted, which indicated a certain acquiescence in its terms. The negotiations then began and were continued at various conferences through the month. They were quite formal in their character, but marked by the greatest courtesy and good feeling, the Japanese commissioners proving quite equal to their new and untried duties.
​On March 11 the presents brought from the United States for the emperor and other officials were delivered with due ceremony. They filled several large boats, were escorted from the ship by a number of officers, a company of marines, and a band, and were received by the high commissioners and their suite. In the list are noted a great variety of firearms and swords of the latest patterns and of fine workmanship, a quantity of books, beautiful dressing-cases and perfumeries, many clocks, instruments and tools, a complete telegraphic apparatus, a small locomotive, cars, rails, and all the appliances for a miniature railroad, lifeboats, and (not to suppress the truth) many baskets of champagne, a great variety and supply of liqueurs, and many barrels of whiskey.
Twelve days later the Japanese presents in return were delivered. The commodore went ashore with a numerous suite of officers to receive them. They filled the large reception hall, and were in endless variety, representing the perfection of Japanese art, exquisite lacquer work, the most delicate embroideries, porcelain ware most frail and perfect in workmanship, silks, satins, crepes, pongees in great quantity and variety, fans, umbrellas, dolls, etc. There were also fruits, rice, fish, and three hundred chickens, but no liquors of any kind. There were presents from the emperor to the President of the United States, to the commodore, to the captains of the ships, the interpreters, etc., none of those who had taken part in the conferences being neglected. There were presents from the commissioners, counselors of state, the governor, and the interpreters. The Americans were fairly equaled by their Japanese friends.
​While the treaty negotiations were going on the American officers and artisans were busy in unpacking the presents and explaining their operation. The telegraph wire was stretched, and offices opened at either end, from which messages were sent in English, Japanese, and Dutch, greatly to the amazement and curiosity of the dignitaries and people, who daily crowded the buildings. A circular railway was constructed and the Lilliputian locomotive and train of cars were operated to the wonder and delight of the throng of spectators. These inventions, the steam engines of the vessels, and the manœuvres of the marines, deeply impressed the Japanese with the marvelous power and genius of their visitors.
The Japanese officers had been hospitably received on their various visits to the ships, and had become quite accustomed to American dishes, and were especially partial to champagne and the other liquors served them. When the negotiations were practically completed, the commodore invited the Japanese commissioners, the attendant officials, and interpreters to a banquet on board the flagship. Great good-fellowship prevailed, and as the wine was freely used, the toasts became frequent on the part of some of the Japanese, who grew quite hilarious over the peaceful termination of the negotiations.
At last the treaty was agreed upon and ready for signature, and the ceremony of signing took place at the hall of conference on March 31, 1854. Commodore Perry signed and delivered to the commissioners three copies of the treaty in the English language, and ​accompanied them with translations in the Chinese and Dutch languages, certified to by his interpreters; and the commissioners signed three copies of the treaty in the Japanese, Chinese, and Dutch languages, and handed them to the commodore. Immediately after the ceremony the commodore presented the first commissioner (Hayashi) with an American flag, remarking that he considered it the highest expression of national courtesy and friendship he could offer. The commissioner, it is reported, seemed deeply impressed with the gift, and returned thanks with indications of great feeling.
The signing of the treaty was followed by a dinner, given in the hall of conference by the Japanese commissioners. It was served entirely in native style. It is recorded that the feast did not make a strikingly favorable impression on the guests; but they were greatly pleased with the courtesy of their hosts, whose urbanity and assiduous attentions left nothing to desire on the score of politeness. They departed, however, it was confessed, with appetites but scantily gratified by the unusual fare that had been spread before them.
The treaty which had been agreed upon was all that was expected by the American negotiator, the doughty commodore, except as to the matter of commerce. The Japanese stipulated for the protection of shipwrecked sailors; two ports were to be opened, in addition to Nagasaki, where Americans might land, where vessels might obtain supplies and purchase goods, and which ​might be made depots for coal; and consuls or government agents were permitted to reside at Shimoda, the open port nearest the capital. It was not possible to secure the privilege in the open ports of unrestricted trade. Hope was held out that it might be granted later, but for the present the government had gone as far as it was able in view of the national sentiment, to meet the demands of the United States. Anticipating, however, that other nations would soon bring like pressure upon Japan for treaties, and that they might secure some additional privileges, a provision was inserted that the United States should enjoy all such privileges.
The commodore's anticipations were soon realized. Six months after his treaty was signed a British admiral sailed into the harbor of Nagasaki, and demanded like treatment as the Americans, and October 14, 1854, a treaty was signed with Great Britain similar to that with the United States. Russia followed January 26, 1855, Holland the same year, and other nations later.
Commodore Perry had successfully performed his mission. Free commerce was not yet secured, but he had broken down the barriers of non-intercourse, and opened the gates of the capital to the access of foreign governments. The first important steps had been taken by Japan, and the rest would follow in due time. In all the negotiations the American commander exhibited marked skill as a diplomatist. True the squadron was a great support in the negotiations. But even with that it was easy for him to make a fatal mistake; yet he ​made none. While he exhibited the firmness becoming a military officer of his government, he was careful not to wound the sensibilities of the Japanese. He fully and frankly discussed with them all the terms of the treaty, but at the point where further persistency was unwise he yielded to the wishes of the Japanese negotiators.
By his skill, patience, and courtesy he achieved a great personal triumph, and rendered an inestimable service to his own country, to Japan, and to the world. To his own profession he added great renown. England, France, Holland, and the United States have produced justly celebrated naval heroes, who have added imperishable glory to their countries, but none will stand higher on the roll of fame or as a benefactor of his race than the sailor diplomat, Matthew Calbraith Perry, who achieved a signal victory without firing a single hostile shot.
The treaty was hailed both in Europe and America as a great triumph of Western civilization. It was promptly and unanimously ratified by the Senate. The Secretary of the Navy, in acknowledging to Commodore Perry its receipt and the action of the Senate, wrote: "I tender you my warm congratulations on the happy success of your novel and interesting mission. You have won additional fame for yourself, reflected new honor upon the very honorable service to which you belong, and we all hope have secured for your country, for commerce, and for civilization a triumph the blessings of which may be enjoyed by generations yet unborn." On his way home he was highly honored by ​the American residents at Canton, and after his arrival by his fellow-citizens in New York and other cities. Increasing years have added to his fame and to the recognition of his services to his country and mankind.
But in no part of the world has his work been so highly appreciated as in Japan itself. When the exchange of the ratifications of the treaty was effected in Japan on the 21st of February, 1855, the commissioners with whom the commodore negotiated the treaty sent him many messages of friendship, and the assurance that "his name would live forever in the history of Japan." So early did the Japanese begin to realize the value to them of his enforced negotiations, and time has constantly added to this realization. The "New Japan" dates back the beginning of its progress to "the coming of Perry."
So strongly has that country become impressed with its obligations to him that an association in Japan set on foot a movement to erect a monument to his memory. The circular, signed by the president (a member of the imperial cabinet), setting forth the object of the movement, refers to the visit of Perry as "the most memorable event in our annals—an event which enabled the country to enter upon the unprecedented era of national ascendancy in which we are now living." The monument was erected upon the spot where the commodore first landed and held his conferences with the Japanese plenipotentiary. The money for its erection was contributed by the Japanese people, the emperor himself subscribing to the fund; and the inscription ​upon it, recognizing the commodore's services in appropriate terms, was prepared by Marquis Ito.
The dedication took place on July 14, 1901, being the forty-eighth anniversary of the event. The government of the United States sent a squadron to participate in the exercises, commanded by Rear-Admiral Rodgers, a grandson of Perry, and there was also present Rear-Admiral Beardslee, who was a midshipman in Perry's fleet. The Japanese government honored the occasion with the presence of its army and navy. The president of the association, in his dedicatory address, gave as the reason for the location of the monument that "it was at this spot that the modern civilization of our empire had its beginning. … When Commodore Perry set his foot on this shore the Japanese empire was enshrouded in the fogs of a seclusion of nearly three hundred years." He proceeded to review, "the complete and wonderful change" which the nation had made, and for which it was mainly under obligations to the United States. "This monument," he said, "is erected to preserve on stone our determination never to forget the friendship of the United States that sent Commodore Perry to induce us in a peaceful way to have intercourse with foreign powers." The prime minister of the empire also delivered an address of similar purport, in which he said: "It gives me boundless joy to participate in this grand celebration at this moment when the light of our progress is sending forth its rays with increasing brightness." Such an occasion and such a tribute are without a parallel in the history of nations.
* ↑ Humboldt's Political Essays on the Kingdom of New Spain, book i. chap. ii.
* ↑ The Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World, by E. S. Creasy, New York, 1851, p. 255; 24 Congressional Globe, part 2, p. 1973, 32d Cong. 1st Sess.
* ↑ 11 Chinese Repository, 161; Nitobe's Intercourse between the United States and Japan, 31.
* ↑ To Mr. D. W. C. Olyphant, of New York, the founder of this house, which for many years occupied a prominent and honorable part in the China trade, American missions to that country owed their origin. Upon his invitation the first Protestant missionary, Robert Morrison, of England, was brought to China. His firm furnished the Canton mission a house, rent free for many years, gave more than fifty free passages to missionaries from the United States, and in other ways contributed largely to their work. The Chinese Repository was mainly indebted to this firm for its support. In all respects its members reflected honor upon their country.
* ↑ Narrative of a Voyage of the Ship Morrison, by S. Wells Williams, 1837; 6 Chinese Repository, 209, 353.
* ↑ Honolulu Friend, February 2, 1846.
* ↑ For instructions of 1832, S. Ex. Doc. 59, p. 63, 32d Cong. 1st Sess. For instructions of 1835, Book of Instructions, Special Missions, Dept. of State.
* ↑ S. Ex. Doc. 38, 32d Cong. 1st Sess.
* ↑ H. Doc. 138, 28th Cong. 2d Sess.
* ↑ S. Ex. Doc. 59, cited, 64–69; Ib. 3–44, 69–73.
* ↑ S. Ex. Doc. 59, cited, 74–82. For President Fillmore's account, 3 American Historical Record, 148; for Aulick's appointment and recall, Ib. 294.
* ↑ S. Ex. Doc. 34, pp. 4–9, 33d Cong. 2d Sess.
* ↑ S. Ex. Doc. 34, cited, 20; U. S. Japan Expedition, by Commodore M. C. Perry, published by Congress, vol. i. 65, 69; Matthew C. Perry, by W. E. Griffis, Boston, 1887, p. 306.
* ↑ Perry's Expedition, 231, 232; Nitobe's Intercourse U. S. and Japan, 1, 46.
* ↑ Perry's Expedition, chaps, xii.–xiv; Nitobe's Intercourse, etc., 49; 1 Japan, its History, Traditions, and Religions, by Sir E. J. Reed, London, 1880, p. 246.
* ↑ Perry's Expedition, 302, 321.
* ↑ For narrative of events on second visit to Yedo and negotiation of treaty, 1 Perry's Expedition, chaps, xviii., xix., and xx.; for official report and documents, S. Ex. Doc. 34, cited, 116–167.
* ↑ Nitobe's Intercourse, etc. 59; Japan, by J. J. Rein (translation), New York, 1884, p. 243.
* ↑ S. Ex. Doc. 34, cited, 180.
* ↑ Foreign Relations U. S. 1901, p. 378.
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