Perry Expedition The Perry Expedition was a U . S . naval and diplomatic expedition to Japan , involving two separate trips to and from Japan by ships of the United States Navy , which took place during 1853 – 54 . The expedition was commanded by Commodore Matthew Calbraith Perry . It resulted in the opening of Japan to American and international trade , and the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and the western " Great Powers " . Matthew Calbraith Perry ( 1794 – 1858 ) was a senior - ranking officer in the navy of the United States of America , who was assigned the command of a USN expedition to the " far east " in 1853 . The goals of this expedition included exploration , surveying , and the establishment of diplomatic relations and negotiation of trade agreements with various nations of the region ; opening contact with the government of Japan was considered a top priority of the expedition , and was one of the key reasons for its inception . The Tokugawa shogunate had virtually isolated Japan from Western countries , and severely restricted contact with even near - neighbors such as China , since the early - mid - 1600s ; a policy known as Sakoku . It had resisted , sometimes by force , attempts by Americans and Europeans to establish business and diplomatic ties . On July 8 , 1853 , Perry sailed into an officially hostile , but militarily unprepared , Japan with four warships . He led a U . S . mission which sought to begin diplomatic and trade relations , and to ensure the safety of Americans shipwrecked in Japan . Perry intimidated the Japanese by threatening to bombard their cities . He presented Japanese officials with a letter from U . S . President Millard Fillmore to the Emperor of Japan , proposing peace and friendship ; at the time , the complex political relationship between the Emperor and the shogunate was not well understood by western governments . Perry left Japan with promises of friendship on both sides . Perry returned the next year , and on March 31 , 1854 , Japan entered into a treaty of peace , friendship , and trade with the United States . This was Japan ' s first official relationship with any Western nation other than Holland , since the first decades of the Edo period ; it marked the beginning of the modern era in Japan . Over time , the Japanese would use ideas and knowledge from western countries to transform their nation into a great industrial and military power . Perry published a three - volume account of the expedition , " Narrative of the Expedition of an American Squadron to the China Seas and Japan " , in 1856 . The Opening of Japan , 1852 - 1854 . In advance of his voyage to the Far East , Commodore Perry read widely amongst available books about Tokugawa Japan . His research also included consultation with the renowned Japanologist Philipp Franz von Siebold . Siebold spent 8 years working , teaching , and studying at the isolated Dutch island - trading post of Dejima in Nagasaki harbour , Japan , before returning to Leiden in the Netherlands . Precedents . Perry ' s expedition to Japan was preceded by several naval expeditions by American ships : First visit , 1852 - 1853 . In 1852 , Perry embarked from Norfolk , Virginia for Japan , in command of the East India Squadron in search of a Japanese trade treaty . Aboard a black - hulled steam frigate , he ported " Mississippi " , " Plymouth " , " Saratoga " , and " Susquehanna " at Uraga Harbor near Edo ( modern Tokyo ) on July 8 , 1853 . His actions at this crucial juncture were informed by a careful study of Japan ' s previous contacts with Western ships and what could be known about the Japanese hierarchical culture . He was met by representatives of the Tokugawa Shogunate who told him to proceed to Nagasaki , where there was limited trade with the Netherlands and which was the only Japanese port open to foreigners at that time ( see Sakoku ) . Threat of force and negotiation . As he arrived , Perry ordered his ships to steam past Japanese lines towards the capital of Edo , and position their guns towards the town of Uraga . Perry refused to abide to demands to leave . He then demanded permission to present a letter from President Millard Fillmore , and threatened to use force if the Japanese boats around the American squadron did not disperse . Perry attempted to intimidate the Japanese by presenting them a white flag and a letter which told them that in case they chose to combat , the Americans would necessarily vanquish them . Perry ' s ships were equipped with new Paixhans shell guns , capable of wreaking great destruction with every shell . The term " Black Ships " , in Japan , would later come to symbolize a threat imposed by Western technology . After the Japanese agreed to receive the letter from the American President , Perry landed at Kurihama ( in modern - day Yokosuka ) on July 14 , 1853 presented the letter to delegates present , and left for the Chinese coast , promising to return for a reply . Fortifications were built in Tokyo Bay at Odaiba in order to protect Edo from possible American naval incursion . Second visit , 1854 . Perry returned in February 1854 with twice as many ships , finding that the delegates had prepared a treaty embodying virtually all the demands in Fillmore ' s letter . Perry signed the Convention of Kanagawa on March 31 , 1854 and departed , mistakenly believing the agreement had been made with imperial representatives . The agreement was made with the Shogun , the de facto ruler of Japan . On his way to Japan , Perry anchored off Keelung in Formosa ( modern day Taiwan ) , for ten days . Perry and crew members landed on Formosa and investigated the potential of mining the coal deposits in that area . He emphasized in his reports that Formosa provided a convenient mid - way trade location . Formosa was also very defensible . It could serve as a base for exploration as Cuba had done for the Spanish in the Americas . Occupying Formosa could help the US to counter European monopolization of the major trade routes . President Franklin Pierce declined the suggestion , remarking such a remote possession would be an unnecessary drain of resources and that he would be unlikely to receive the consent of Congress . Return to the United States , 1855 . When Perry returned to the United States in 1855 , Congress voted to grant him a reward of $ 20 , 000 in appreciation of his work in Japan . Perry used part of this money to prepare and publish a report on the expedition in three volumes , titled " Narrative of the Expedition of an American Squadron to the China Seas and Japan " . He was also advanced to the grade of rear - admiral on the retired list ( when his health began to fail ) as a reward for his services in the Far East . Perry was known to have suffered severe arthritis that left him in frequent pain , that on occasion precluded him from his duties . Perry spent his last years preparing for publication his account of the Japan expedition , announcing its completion on December 28 , 1857 . Two days later he was detached from his last post , an assignment to the Naval Efficiency Board . He died awaiting further orders on March 4 , 1858 in New York City , of rheumatism that had spread to the heart , compounded by complications of gout . References . 1 . World Book , Brauer , Kinley J . " Perry , Matthew Calbraith . " World Book Online Reference Center . 2009 . [ Place of access . ] 18 March 2009 < http : / / www . worldbookonline . com / wb / Article ? id = ar423982 > .