Perry In Japan

Two Different Meanings in One Panel [Scroll 8]

Mari Takeuchi, The University of Tokyo (Spring 2009)

[A gastronomical production]

In the drawing "Gastronomical Production," the artist depicts American navy officers and the Japanese men in detail and comically. The Americans are enjoying Japanese meal and the Japanese are serving them. This cheerfulness attracts our attention at first. This reception was an important occasion between Perry and the Japanese government because its purpose was to conclude a treaty of peace and amity. However, the artist depicts this important conference in the background quietly. That is, there is a disharmony in this panel because this panel has two completely different spaces in it. The feast in the foreground shows the painter's intention of representing a peaceful exchange in culture, while the gloomy negotiation in the background shows the tension between America and Japan that could not be completely hidden by the cheerfulness in the foreground.

The reception scene attracts our attention, because this part has much information. The scene is depicted in the foreground and in greater details than other parts of this drawing. So we can easily tell what the people are doing, how they are eating, and what expressions they are showing. Sailors are eating Japanese traditional meals set on trays. They look like they are either enjoying or puzzled. There are many points that draw our attention. The title that was given by Brown University, "A Gastronomical Production," also shows that we tend to think that the main subject of this panel is the description of the feast.

However, this panel does not only show the "Gastronomical Production." This drawing consists of two different spaces. One is the feast in the foreground, and the other is the conference in the background. Contrasted with the feast scene depicted in the foreground, the negotiation is depicted restrainedly. We almost have to strain our eyes and imagine the points we cannot see well because the scene of the negotiation is set in the background and does not figure prominently. Some people are talking with each other. A navy officer has something that looks like a document. In addition, their expressions are gloomy and subdued compared to the people in the feast scene.

When we look at historical facts, however, the main purpose of this event was a conference about the treaty. On January 13, 1854, Perry and his squadron returned to Japan. On March 8, Perry and the naval officers landed at Yokohama and visited the "treaty house." They were invited into a hall and exchanged some greetings with Japanese government officials. Then only American and Japanese high officials with some interpreters moved into the next room, which was separated from the hall by a blue cloth, to consult about the treaty. During this conference, Japanese officers treated lower-class navy officers with food and drink (Amerika Kaigun, 1953). From the political standpoint, the negotiation in the small room in the back was much more significant than the feast in the hall.

The atmosphere of this treaty conference was tense. During the session Perry and Japanese officials made a significant decision about the relations between America and Japan. As a result of the consultation, Perry withdrew the demand for commerce for the time being. The demand for commerce was one of the most important purposes of Perry's fleet. Since Japanese government turned down this demand obstinately, Perry decided to compromise to have other demands accepted (Kato, 2004). This was the turning point of negotiations because this decision settled that they would make a treaty of not commerce but peace and amity. Perry even suggested the possibility of a war. It is strange that this panel emphasizes the feast despite this importance of the conference and the nervous situation.

The emphasis on the feast cannot mean that the conference in the background was not as serious as the records say. Not all drawings tell the whole truth. There is another picture of this reception by a Japanese artist, Takakawa Bunzen. This picture, "Yokohama Osetujo Hizu [The secret picture of Yokohama reception house]" (Kato, 2004, p168) depicts this scene differently. In this picture we see this reception from the back of Japanese officials. Some walls that exist in "Gastronomical Production" disappear. The conference room seems to be not separated as clearly as in "Gastronomical Production." American navy officers do not wear caps as in "Gastronomical Production." These significant differences between "Gastronomical Production" and "Yokohama Osetujo Hizu" suggest that the artist of "Gastronomical Production" did not necessarily depict the reception as it was. The artist depicted in the way he wanted to express.

This panel, "Gastronomical Production," consists of two different rooms. One is the feast scene. This scene is depicted in the foreground and cheerfully. If we focus on only this part, this panel shows a peaceful exchange of culture. That is because the artist tried to describe this situation as a peaceful reception by emphasizing the scene in the foreground. The other part is the conference in the background. We tend to overlook this room because of its restrained description. Maybe this way of describing was the policy of the Japanese government who asked the artist to draw. I believe that the government did not want to show any anxiety about diplomacy. Such a sign would stir up criticism of the Tokugawa shogunate. When seeing this part carefully and considering the historical facts, however, we can sense the seriousness and the strain of this reception in this modest description.

References

Amerika Kaigun [U.S.Navy] ed. Peruri Teitoku Nihon Enseiki (3) [Narrative of the expedition of an American squadron to China seas and Japan]. trans by Tsuchiya, Takao and Tamaki, Hajime. Tokyo,Iwanami Shoten, 1953.
Kato, Yuzo. Bakumatu Gaiko To Kaikoku [The diplomacy of the last days of the Tokugawa shogunate and the opening of Japan]. Tokyo. Chikuma Shobo, 2004.