THE CREW WAS RESTLESS AND BORED while waiting around for a treaty to be signed. Many of the men were disappointed because the Land of the Rising Sun was not glistening with riches. They were exhilarated, however, when a report came from the Saratoga’s galley. The chef had found particles of gold inside the gizzards of ducks that had been slaughtered for dinner. One nugget was as large as a pea. A land where poultry fed upon gold! What fabulous prospects for fortune hunters! Japan may prove to be a treasure island, after all. But the dreams of wealth were short-lived. The purser on the Saratoga submitted the metal to a test and found that it was only copper.
On March 31, the day after the golden gizzard fiasco, Perry received his greatest treasure—a treaty with Japan. The Commodore went to the Treaty House in order to receive copies of the Treaty of Kanagawa in four languages: English, Dutch, Japanese, and Chinese. It provided for:
· Peace and friendship between the United States of America and the Empire of Japan.
· The opening of two ports to American ships: Shimoda and Hakodate.
· Assistance for any American ships that are wrecked on the Japanese coast and protection of shipwrecked persons.
· Assurance that shipwrecked men and other U.S. citizens would not be confined and controlled like the Dutch who were at Nagasaki.
· U.S. consuls or agents would be allowed to reside in Shimoda “provided that either of the two governments deem such arrangements necessary.”
· Japanese officers would supply ships with coal, water, and other necessary provisions.
· Most favored nation clause: The United States would receive all privileges that other nations may receive in the future.
· The Treaty “is to be ratified and approved by the President of the United States, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate thereof, and by the august Sovereign of Japan, and the ratification shall be exchanged with-in eighteen months…or sooner.” (See Appendix E.)
The treaty was the result of weeks of tiresome talks. After the Japanese conceded the ports of Shimoda and Hakodate, they expected to be able to confine Americans at these villages. Then they compromised by allowing Americans to travel seven ri (about seventeen miles) in any direction out of town.
The prospect of American consuls living in Japan was another subject of debate. Perry firmly insisted that consuls must be received—unless the Japanese wanted an American warship constantly docked at one of their ports. The Commodore finally stipulated that only one consul would be sent to reside in Shimoda, but not until eighteen months had passed.
The Japanese commissioners felt they had “saved face” and deluded themselves into believing that they had not conceded anything of great importance. They had not named any major ports: Shimoda and Hakodate were villages remote from the important cities of Osaka and Edo. They had prevented Perry from entering Edo. They had shielded the Shogun and the Emperor. They had maintained peace. The prospect of a consul coming from the United States seemed unlikely, for although the American text of the treaty stated that either of the two governments had to “deem such arrangement necessary,” the Japanese text read that both Japanese and American governments must deem such arrangements unavoidable. (Two years later when consul Townsend Harris arrived in Shimoda, the authorities told him to leave. They were appalled that he established a consulate without the Shogun’s consent.)
Perry was pleased with the treaty, for although it was not a trade agreement, it did guarantee protection of castaways, and it specified two ports that would supply provisions for Yankee whalers, warships, and merchant vessels. He had a foot in the door and in the future it would not be difficult to open up a wide entrance to this closed-in country. The isolated Empire of Japan would soon join the society of world nations.
On March 31, 1854, the treaty was signed by the Commodore as representative of the U.S. government and by four commissioners in the name of the Emperor. The Emperor eventually received a copy, with unrealistic assurances from the Shogun’s emissaries that the document was of no importance.
After the signing Perry presented an American flag to the chief commissioner “to evidence our intention never to oppose your country.”1 Then the Japanese invited the Americans to a banquet.
A Japanese Feast
All sat down to a feast consisting of thick soups and stews of fish, plates of crayfish, shrimps, fried fish, seaweed jelly, puddings, cakes, and countless cups of rice saki, which were needed for the toasts. The courses were cooked and presented artistically, but the food was not for the Yankee palate. Midshipman Edward McCauley declared that he could detect “the flavor of cat, dog, rat, and snake.”2 Perry, more subtle in his remarks, wrote that the dinner “left an unfavorable impression on their skill of cookery.”3
Hideki’s sketch of the Japanese feast for the Americans
courtesy of the Historiographical Institute of the University of Tokyo
The Americans, however, marveled at the courtesy and politeness of their hosts and to please them, many adopted the Japanese custom of wrapping leftovers and taking food back to their ships.
The Japanese were appalled by the Americans’ table manners, which they called “disgusting.” The men were too informal, their conversation was too loud, and their table manners were messy. (They couldn’t handle chopsticks.) But the banquet was fun, and everyone was friendly.
It is remarkable that people in the land of the Shogun could be so gracious and hospitable to unwanted visitors from the Black Ships and that the Americans could overcome their prejudice against a “different” people and enjoy their company.
A finished Hideki painting of the same feast
courtesy of the Historiographical Institute of the University of Tokyo