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Commodore Perry's Arrival in Japan -- The Susquehanna
Woodcut kawaraban showing a foreign steamship from 1853, depicting one of Commodore Perry's fleet of "black ships."
The flag with stars and stripes on the ship resembles the United States flag, suggesting that it is a ship in Commodore Matthew Perry’s fleet, which famously opened Japan to foreign trade in the 1850s.
The ship appears to be surrounded by Japanese text annotations, which describe various parts of the vessel and the scene. Here is a basic translation of the key terms and phrases in the image, from right to left, focusing on the Japanese characters:
- 大舶四艘: "Four large ships."
- 長サ八拾五間: "Length 85 ken (approx. 154.7 meters)."
- 横三拾五間: "Width 35 ken (approx. 63.7 meters)."
- 大筒拾二挺: "12 large cannons."
- 小筒五十挺: "50 small cannons."
- 石火矢五挺: "Five fire-arrows (rockets or incendiary projectiles)."
- 小舶二艘: "Two small ships."
- 長二拾五間: "Length 25 ken (approx. 45.5 meters)."
- 横二拾間: "Width 20 ken (approx. 36.4 meters)."
Additional notes refer to technical aspects of the ship, such as the masts (車橇, "carriages") and other structural details, possibly indicating the positioning of the ship's cannons, sails, or deck layout.
Japanese newspapers began in the 17th century as yomiuri (読売、literally "to read and sell") or kawaraban (瓦版, literally "tile-block printing" referring to the use of clay printing blocks), which were printed handbills sold in major cities to commemorate major social gatherings or events. These sheets were often printed anonymously.
The kawaraban publishers served as a crucial vector for the transmission of information about Commodore Mathew Perry's opening of Japan. During the Edo Period, the arriving European vessels were called kurofune (Black Ships). That time was characterized by great social upheaval, and intense public interest in the agents of the outside world arriving in Japan.
Anna Wada, in "About Kawaraban", Perry in Japan A Visual History, gives background on the kawaraban:
The kawaraban took up a range of topics, including natural disasters, superstitious happenings, murders, and less commonly, political satire. Printers chose topics more to entertain and satisfy the readers’ curiosity than to educate them. Visual components such as illustrations, diagrams, and maps attracted the people to the print and helped them to understand the text, as well as sometimes offering additional information.
Throughout the Edo period the shogunate repeatedly restricted printing for a mass audience, particularly seeking to avoid rumors and political commentary. By the time the Black Ships [i.e., Perry’s fleet] arrived at the end of the Edo period, however, the system of censorship could not keep up with the number of prints in circulation. The increase in publications coincided with the spread of literacy in both urban and rural areas.
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