Tinted lithograph print depicting a view of Shimoda from a cliff. A group of six Japanese men are sat at the edge of the cliff. Two American officers, one possibly Commodore Matthew Perry, are stood next to them, overlooking the bay. To the right, three American sailors in uniform are gathered. On the ocean below, four of the ships from Perry’s expeditions are at anchor. In the distance is a range of mountains. Inscribe: ‘Simoda From Vandalia Bluff. / From nature by 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 401.

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 to commence negotiations. 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.

Perry sent one of his ships, the ‘Saratoga’, back to the US with the treaty, while the rest of the fleet surveyed the two ports that would be opened to Americans, Hakodate and Shimoda. The ships that went to Shimoda included the ‘Mississippi’, ‘Powhatan’, ‘Southampton’, ‘Supply’, ‘Vandalia’, and ‘Lexington’.