Ken Mai: Biddle's Ships

This depiction of Commodore Biddle’s ships in Edo Bay, released two years after its occurrence in 1846 – likely to an American public – presents Japan as a peaceful and desirable trade partner while maintaining an image of American superiority over the Japanese.

            The most notable detail is the size difference between the American warships and the surrounding Japanese boats. Although their sheer number may seem imposing, the boats are dwarfed by the American ships, which highlights how impressive the latter are. Additionally, the caption itself reads that “much difficulty was not anticipated” from the sea of Japanese boats.[1] Indeed, the men on the boats appear to be peasants, with big round hats and simple robes, and were described as “polite” and “amicable”.[2] They look positively harmless in comparison to the hulking warships. These details construct a power dynamic where America is undoubtedly superior.

             The lack of details in the background has a similar effect. The image depicts barren mountains and an empty countryside, with the caption only adding that they look “well cultivated.”[3] This is a far cry from the urban hub that apparently produced such curiosities as a fart artist over 50 years before, [4] or the stinking heaven for farmers looking for rich nightsoil.[5] While it may be that the men never were close enough to see the details, the map of Edo[6] during that period suggests urban development even up to the shore. The portrayal of Edo as largely made up of fields, barren of city life, would reinforce the idea that the Japanese are merely a peaceful farming people, and that they are still far behind the West.

            Perhaps the biggest omission, though, is that of the violence taken by the Japanese against the Americans. The fact that a low-ranking guard had struck down the commodore is nowhere to be found in the caption. Rather, it recounts that the Americans were politely asked to “leave and never come again”, after which Japanese boats had merely towed them out of Edo Bay.[7] Though the visit was certainly not as violent as the Morrison[8] had experienced about a decade before, it was still not a totally peaceful one. But, had word of this disgrace gotten out, adding to the stories of violence done to shipwreck whalers, not only would the U.S. lose face, public perceptions of the Japanese might turn sour and jeopardize chances of trade.

            Thus, the reasons for presenting this view of Japan as a peaceful, docile nation are obvious. America, moved by the “commercial spirit of the age”[9], was hungry for new trade partners. Japan, largely untouched by the modern world, presented an attractive market. A positive portrayal, then, was necessary to convince the public and the statesmen that such a trading relationship would be desirable. Indeed, that is a large part of Aaron Palmer’s appeal, made only a year after, and it is similarly present here both in the caption and in the image itself.