BEFORE GOING BACK TO THE SHIP the Commodore invited the commissioners and their retinue to dine aboard the Powhatan.1
The Japanese first visited the Macedonian and were ushered all over the ship. Once again, their intense curiosity amused the crew, for they examined every inch of the vessel and even stuck their heads into the mouths of cannons. The sailors put on a fire drill during which they threw buckets of water and pumped streams of it at imaginary fires. The sailors also amused their guests by firing guns and by demonstrating how they prepared to board an enemy ship and how they were organized to repel attackers. This show of power was not lost on the Japanese. Long before this day many thought that a treaty with the Americans offered their only chance of peaceful survival.2
When they boarded the Powhatan they were shown the steamship’s massive machinery before being seated for a feast. Because Japanese etiquette would not allow the commissioners to sit at the same table as their subordinates, the Commodore arranged two banquets: one in his cabin, for dignitaries, the other on quarterdeck for their retainers.
Once again the Commodore put on a good show. He believed that diplomacy through dining was important, and therefore a French chef was an essential member of his staff. Perry wrote, “I spared no pains in providing most bountifully, being desirous of giving them some idea of American hospitality in comparison with their portions of fish soup. My Paris cook labored for a week, night and day, in getting up a variety of ornamental dishes.”3 The menu included soups, fish, beef, fowl, pickles, pies, and fruits. Each commissioner was presented with a cake decorated with his own flag and coat of arms.
OVERLEAF: The grand dinner on deck
reproduced from the collections of the Library of Congress
A variety of wines and liqueurs inspired toasts to the Commodore, the commissioners, the President, and more and more frequently as they filled their glasses, to the ladies of Japan and America. Preble noted that “A most laughable scene was seeing one of our officers toasting the Japs who looked like two bundles of clothes, skewered by two swords.”4
Instructed to encourage guests to eat and drink as much as possible, Preble plied the Japanese on deck with wines, whiskey, and punch. When there was no more, he “gave them a mixture of catsup and vinegar, which they seemed to relish with equal gusto.”5
When the band played, several started shuffling and dancing, and to encourage them in the gaiety, American officers danced with them. What a sight! “The bald-pated bundles of clothes [Samurai]—and Doctors, Pursers, Lieutenants and Captains all jumping up and down to music.”6 One elderly samurai was seen on the hurricane deck learning the polka from a midshipman.
Each guest was encouraged to take home leftovers. In addition to pieces of pie, beef, and chicken, one fellow emptied a saltcellar, and another poured sugar into a paper handkerchief that he had cleverly folded into an envelope.
After dinner the commissioners joined the others on deck. All the Japanese were given front-row seats for a minstrel show, staged by American sailors. Programs, which had been printed on board ship, were distributed so that the audience would know that the theatrical performance was done by the Japanese Minstrels. They were amused by the blackened faces, banjos, tamborines, and silly dancing. They certainly could not understand dialogue, and they knew nothing about Africans who had been brought to America as slaves.
A minstrel show
courtesy of Asahi Shimbun and Kanagawa Prefecture Museum
When it was time to leave, a commissioner who was a bit tipsy but brimming with goodwill said, “Japan and America, all the same heart.” He hugged the Commodore so hard that Perry’s new epaulettes were crushed. Perry did not mind the hug. “Oh,” he said to his officers, “if they will only sign the Treaty he may kiss me.”7