Tinted lithograph print showing a group of nine Japanese men gathered on a hill overlooking the port and city of Hakodate (written on the print as Hakodadi). There is a statue on the hill. Below, the city stretches out along the coastline. Ships are gathered in the port, and a few ships can be seen further out to sea. In the distance there are mountains. Inscribed: ‘Hakodadi from Telegraph Hill / From nature by W. Heine / Lith. Of SARONY & Co New York’.

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 447.

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. On 31 March, 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. Hakodate was one of the ports opened for trade under the terms of the Convention. Perry’s expedition arrived at Hakodate on 17 May 1854.