Perry In Japan

How to open Japan? Better to Negotiate than Fight [Scroll 4]

Kumiko Kawamura, The University of Tokyo (Spring 2009)

[Military exercises]

In 1853, the envoy from America led by Commodore Perry visited Japan. The steamships in which the envoy came were called "the Black Ships." They were equipped with guns. Even today, people seem to think that Japan came very close to being attacked by America then. The drawing "Military Exercises" gives the viewers the same threatening impression at first sight. Some of the soldiers are marching perfectly in unison, and others are standing in an orderly manner. Apparently, the artist drew this drawing in order to report how intimidating the American military were. However, that is only one interpretation of this drawing. The several soldiers who are not engaged in training and a band generate a more friendly atmosphere than other soldiers who are training. Moreover, the screens do not fully surround the military and there is a wide-open sky above, creating a more conciliatory atmosphere. Judging from these positive aspects and some documents which refer to Perry's expedition, I think America did not intend to attack Japan. Instead, America tried to encourage the Japanese government to do away with the desire to fight against America and to confer with America by making Japan scared of being attacked. And in order to make sure Japan met the American demands, America threatened to attack Japan if Japan failed to accept America's offer. However, some Japanese people took the American attitude wrongly and believed that America was about to attack Japan. They also thought that Japan should not abandon the national isolation even if a war breaks out. I believe the artist of this drawing was trying to persuade its viewers the possibilities of and necessities for diplomatic negotiations between Japan and America.

The artist wanted the Japanese people to understand that Japan could not insist on having her own way because Japan at that time was less united than America. When Perry came to Japan, the shogunate was split into several factions over its foreign policy. In the shogunate, some had already realized that it was impossible to keep the national isolation, but others did not (Hamaya 1987, 125). Also, clans were allowed to make their own proposals on national policy to the shogunate (Hamaya 1987, 135). The artist, who was probably familiar with the foreign affairs, felt that declaring a national consensus on how to deal with America was all the more difficult for this division. The artist implicitly pointed out the division in the whole Japan by depicting the united American military. He depicted the Star-Spangled Banners as the symbol of the unification of the nation. The movements of the American soldiers' legs are synchronized perfectly. The soldiers are almost the same height, though in reality they could not have been. These exaggerations also produce a sense of unity among Americans. In contrast, he intended to convince the viewers that Japan in political dispute had no choice but to obey America.

He also wanted the Japanese people to understand that rejecting foreigners by force was impossible because Japan was less strong than America. Though western countries had started to advance into Asia since the latter half of the 18th century, some Japanese insisted on excluding foreigners. However, the artist realized there was little chance for Japan to defeat foreign countries by force of arms. He knew how far Japan had fallen behind the west in strength while Japan kept the national isolation policy. The Japanese had been used to enjoying peace, and no soldiers were well trained. Also, they did not have enough money to take part in the actual fighting. (Hamaya 1987, 144). In contrast to the situation in Japan, the artist depicted many guns and showed how strong the American military was. The artist wanted to tell the Japanese that expelling America by force was unrealistic by bringing their attention to the strict American military exercises.

In addition to showing the necessities for avoidance of war, the artist implied some in the Japanese government were prepared to meet the American demands. I believe the absence of any Japanese in this drawing shows this readiness. That is, according to the drawing, the Japanese government allowed the American military to train itself independently. If the Japanese government had intended to fight against America, it would have monitored the American exercise. The Japanese government took such a timid attitude because it realized that it was unrealistic to declare war against America. Indeed, at that time Japan was equipped with far weaker arms than America. For example, the shogunate had prohibited clans from building ships heavier than about 75 tons since 1635(Sasayama et. al ,169). The blast furnace was built in Japan only few years before Perry's arrival. Therefore, when the Japanese government realized that Japan was in danger of being attacked by guns from American ships, it had no choice but to convey its intention of not resisting the Americans and hope to get the chance to negotiate at least. The artist implied in this drawing that the Japanese government was ready to open Japan through negotiation in order to prevent Japan from the American attack.

So far, I have discussed the Japanese point of view. It is clear that the artist implicitly showed the attitude of the Japanese government toward Perry's expedition. However, he also understood the American attitude and wanted to show the viewers the American intention to avoid a military confrontation. I will discuss the American point of view as follows.

From the American point of view, the role Perry gave to the military exercise was not very intimidating. This fact gets definite by considering the way the band is depicted. In the drawing, the depiction of the band takes up a considerable proportion. There are extra musical instruments on the ground, and there seem to have been more band members than depicted here. That means the band was supposed to play an important role in the whole military. Also some band members on the right hand side are dressed in red. A band member on the left hand side has a drum decorated with a gorgeous red floral design. The red is striking in this drawing, and it seems the artist wanted the viewers to pay attention to the band.

In those days, a band was useful for western countries to enhance the dignity of the envoy. It had an overwhelming impact because of its loud sound and the brightness of the instrument and showed off their cultural power (Hosokawa 63). America also paid attention to these effects of a band. According to Belmont (1996), Perry "had well-formed plans of negotiation that included, along with displays of military and technological prowess, his chief cultural weapon: American music."(p.260) This suggests that both music and the military were used as the means to persuade Japan into negotiation by bringing the superiority of America to Japan. The artist put emphasis on the band as well as the military exercise in order to tell the viewers that the band was symbolic of this American true purpose.

Indeed, the United States wanted negotiation much more than a battle. The American government dispatched the envoy to Japan in order to construct a peaceful relationship and acquire the right of using Japanese ports. In those days, many whaling ships navigated near Japan and needed the ports where they could rest or get food and fuel, especially coal. Also, America thought it would be convenient to go to China via some ports in Japan. Therefore America did not want to destroy Japan by arms (Hamaya 1992, 87).

There was another reason for America to pursue the negotiation peacefully. It would have been riskier if America had declared war against Japan. In this drawing, one soldier walking behind some band members in red clothes looks very tired and moves slowly. It was natural for him to get tired because Americans were unfamiliar with Japan and also because they took on a heavy responsibility as a member of the envoy. All the other soldiers might have been feeling similarly tired and idle, but they are training hard. This is because their officers put pressure on them. In this drawing, some officers turn their swords to their subordinates. As the officers had difficulties even in maintaining soldiers' motivation to exercise, it would be desirable for America to avoid wars. Also, Perry led fewer ships than he had hoped for (Oe 1994, 93). Therefore, Perry tried to avoid a military confrontation as far as possible in order to minimize the loss of American resources.

The artist includes a lot of information about the real situations where Japan was involved in "Military Exercise." In spite of the threatening appearance of the drawing, I believe the true stories which the artist wanted to tell through this drawing were the actual conditions seen from each country's point of view. Japan wanted to reject the letter from the US president, but some government officials realized that there was no other way but to accept America's offer. They had to avoid being exterminated by Americans. On the other hand, America also felt inclined to avoid war because attacking Japan would reduce the effect of opening Japan. America needed to construct a peaceful relationship with Japan because of Japan's ports and the trade. Therefore, America did not have to destroy Japan but needed to make Japan obey America at minimum cost. The artist wanted to show what America and Japan really expected by viewing the expedition from a distance. He probably realized that "the onlooker sees most of the game."

References

Oe, Shinobu. Perry kantai daikoukaiki[The logbook of Perry's fleet]. Tokyo: Rippu Shobo, 1994.
Hamaya, Masaki. Kurohune to bakuhu [Black Ship and the Shogunate]. Tokyo: Kobundo, 1987.
Hamaya, Masaki. Nitibeikankei no genten [The Origin of the Relation between Japan and America]. Tokyo: Kobundo, 1992.
Abe, Kanichi et. al. Burasubando no shakaishi [The Social History of Brassbands].Tokyo: Seikyusya, 2001.
Sasayama, Haruo et. al. Syosetsu Nihonshi Shiryosyu[Detailed Explanation Japanese Historical Records]. Tokyo: Yamakawa Syuppansya, 2007.
Yellin, Victor Fell. "Mrs.Belmont, Matthew Perry, and the 'Japanese Minstrels'." American Music, ol.14, No.3 (1996):257-275.