Olivia Campbell--Perry Kawaraban

Perry_Kawaraban_Omeka.jpg

Picture of Commodore Matthew Perry, kawaraban broadsheet, 1854.

The arrival and subsequent return of the American Commodore Matthew Perry sparked not only an abundance of political responses, but also artistic renderings. The depiction of Perry seen on the left was printed on a かわらばん or broadsheet, and released in 1854, coinciding with Perry’s second trip to Japan. The author of the piece is still unknown. The image shows a highly stylized, Japanese version of Perry which bears little resemblance to photographs of him at the time. The man pictured has large eyes, ears, and nose, and prominent jowls. He has strange facial hair, a thin loop of mustache and beard that run parallel to his perfectly horizontal eyebrows, and is dressed in a Western-style military uniform, complete with cylindrical hat and Japanese sword. The title accompanying the picture reads “A true likeness of the commanding officer from the Republic of North America”[1].Nowhere is there any indication which country the man might be from or distinguishing symbols on his uniform.

However, this version of Perry still bears a more realistic resemblance to the man than many other similar images circulating at the time. Artists had few chances to see Perry in person, both because of limited technology and as a result of Perry’s desire to remain aloof and inaccessible to the Japanese. As a result, many renderings of the Commodore played to common western stereotypes that would have been well known to artists at the time and the mass citizenry of commoners that consumed their work[2]. It was not unusual to see drawings or woodblock prints of Perry with red hair, a trait seen in previous Dutch visitors, overwhelming amounts of facial hair, playing to the “hairy foreigner” stereotype, or with sharp, pointed facial features reminiscent of drawings of Japanese tengu or goblins[3].

Indeed to many Japanese commoners, some of these depictions would appear alien or even threatening, not surprising given the political climate of the time. More than any westerner before him, Perry’s demands were a threat to the continued existence of Japan as they knew it, and by his second trip, a strong anti-foreign movement was taking root[4]. The more warped depictions of Perry would have reinforced that sentiment. However, this particular image shows a stereotypical but not overtly hostile Perry, indicating that certainly not everyone at the time viewed the westerners as monsters or a threat to Japanese survival. As research on the portrayal of Westerners during this time period continues, it will be interesting to assess the geographic location of these different images and its effect on the portrayal. Is there a significant political agenda common to the region where a broadsheet was published? What is the political position of the artist in question? These will likely become important considerations as we continue to evaluate broader Japanese perceptions of Perry and his crew.


[1] Unknown, “Broadsheet portrait of Perry,” Japan's Samurai Revolution, accessed September 29 2014, http://samurairevolution.omeka.net/items/show/4.

[2] Dower, John W., “Perry,” Black Ships and Samurai: Commodore Perry and the Opening of Japan (1853-54), accessed September 29, 2014, http://ocw.mit.edu/ans7870/21f/21f.027/black_ships_and_samurai/bss_essay02.html.

[3] Ibid.

[4] Howell, David L., “Week Five, Lecture 1: Go Away”, Societies of the World 43, September 29, 2014.

Wednesday Section
Olivia Campbell--Perry Kawaraban