Tinted lithograph print depicting Commodore Matthew Perry and his men being received at the castle in Shuri (written on the print as ‘Shui’) on Okinawa. A large number of Perry’s men are gathered in a hall with pillars and high ceilings. The walls are panelled and decorated along the top with bird motifs (possibly herons). In the centre of the image are Perry and the royal regent of the Ryukyu Kingdom (known historically in English as Lew Chew), greeting each other. The artist, William Heine, has included himself sketching the scene to the lower left. Inscribed: ‘Reception at the Castle of Shui / T. Sinclair’s lith. Philad[elphi]a.’

Okinawa is the largest island in the Ryukyu Islands. Shuri was the capital city of the Ryukyu Kingdom, which was formally annexed by Japan in 1872. Today, Shuri is a district in the city of Naha.

The print is based on a drawing by Peter Bernhard Wilhelm Heine, better known as William Heine (1827–1885). A German-American world traveller, writer and artist, Heine was the official artist on Commodore Matthew Perry’s expedition to Japan in 1852. This print was published as an illustration in the official voyage publication, 'Narrative of the Expedition of an American Squadron to the China Seas and Japan' (Washington: Beverley Tucker, 1856), opposite page 190.

Perry’s expedition embarked for Japan with the intention of securing a trade treaty through threats and displays of US naval power. They stopped in Naha on Okinawa in May 1853 and forced entry into Shuri Castle, where they met with the royal regent, then ruling on behalf of the ten-year-old king Shō Tai. This print shows a meeting between Perry and the royal regent. Perry eventually signed a trade agreement with the Ryukyu Kingdom on 11 July 1854.