Tinted lithograph print depicting Commodore Matthew Perry and his officers being shown to a purpose-built hall in Yokohama (written on print as ‘Yokuhama’) to meet Japanese officials. Perry and his men are dressed in uniform, and the Japanese are wearing kimonos and haori jackets. In the background, rows of sailors are stood holding muskets. In the far distance, the masts from the expedition’s ships can be seen. Some of Perry’s party are carrying American flags. Inscribed: ‘Commo[dore] Perry Meeting the Imperial Commissioners at Yokuhama / From nature by W.T. Peters. / Lith. Of SARONY & Co New York’.

This print was published as an illustration in Narrative of the Expedition of an American Squadron to the China Seas and Japan (Washington: Beverley Tucker, 1856), opposite page 346. It is based on a drawing by William T. Peters. Peters did not go on Commodore Perry’s expedition to Japan but worked from one of Eliphalet M. Brown’s now lost daguerreotypes.

Perry’s expedition embarked for Japan in 1852 with the intention of securing a trade treaty through threats and displays of US naval power. Perry and the Japanese disagreed on the site for negotiations. Perry insisted on Edo (Tokyo), while the Japanese offered various other locations. They compromised on Yokohama, a port city in Tokyo Bay. Perry landed on 8 March 1854, and three weeks of negotiations ensued. In 1854, the Convention of Kanagawa was signed under threat of force, with Japan reluctantly agreeing to protect stranded seamen and open two ports for refuelling of American ships. It was not a trade agreement but did contain a most-favoured-nation clause, which provided an opening for a future trade contract between Japan and the United States. Yokohama was one of the ports to open for trade with the West after 1859.