Perry Expedition Objects

Figure 1. Hand-painted Japanese Uchiwa Fan Gifted to Perry.

Source: Digital Public Library of America.

A hand-painted fan gifted to Commodore Perry by the Japanese, 1853.

This object is an uchiwa, a rigid Japanese fan with an oval shape supported by a bamboo frame. Unlike folding fans, uchiwa were used in everyday life for cooling or decoration, and their surfaces often featured artwork. The scene painted on this fan, showing travelers along a shoreline with boats and distant mountains, reflects the kind of imagery and quiet storytelling common in Edo-period Japan.

During the Perry Expedition, the fan took on a new role as a diplomatic gift. By offering objects like this, the Japanese were trying to share something meaningful about their culture and everyday life with Perry and his delegation. The fan’s careful craftsmanship and delicate imagery were meant to communicate refinement and respect. Perry, however, barely acknowledged the artistry or cultural importance of these gifts, which revealed a larger imbalance in the encounter. His reaction helped set the tone for the negotiations that followed, where American technological displays received attention and Japanese cultural expressions were pushed aside. In this sense, the fan becomes a reminder of the moment when Japan reached out through art and craftsmanship, and the United States chose not to see the significance of what was being offered.

Figure 2. Hanshō Bell Presented to Commodore Matthew Perry.

Source: National Bell Festival

Temple Bell

The temple bell in Perry’s gift collection is a Honshō, a bronze bell that was used in Buddhist temples to mark time, call monks to prayer, and create a spiritual order. Unlike Western bells, a bonshō doesn’t include an internal clapper. Instead, it is struck from the outside with a wooden beam, creating a deep and resonant tone.

The bell presented to Perry in 1854 symbolized religion, ritual, and the foundation of Japanese society. Offering a sacred item such as this signaled Japan’s intention to shape the encounter with the United States on its own terms. Physically, the bell includes many Buddhist features, including raised knobs called chi, inscriptions on the upper band, and a lotus-shaped crown. These elements show both spiritual symbolism and artistic tradition. Today, the bell is in the Smithsonian’s Artifacts of Diplomacy collection.

Figure 3. List of Perry's Gifts
Source: Shiryo Hensanjo, University of Tokyo

Gifts given to the Japanese

For the Emperor:

Steam Engine & track
Telegraph
A stove
Audubon's Birds
1.5 yards scarlet Broadcloth
Box of Marichino
Colt's Revolver
Box of Champagne
Telescope
Barrel Whiskey
U.S. weights, measures & balances
1 Box Tea
Natural History of New York
Agricultural Instruments

For the Empress:

Flowered silk Dress
Perfumery
Velvet Dress
One doz. bottles essence

For Commissioner Hayashi:

Audubon's Quadrupeds
Tea Set for his Lady
Ivory Longnette
Cotton cloth
Clock
20 gallon Whiskey
Revolver
1 box Tea

Figure 4. The Miniature Train

Source: Brown University Library.

Steam Locomotive & Track

During Perry’s 1854 return mission, the U.S. presented the shogunate with a quarter-scale steam locomotive and a car that ran on a circular track over 100 meters long. The demonstration was reported to reach speeds near 32 km/h, drew large crowds of officials and onlookers, and offered Japan its first direct encounter with self-propelled industrial machinery.

Perry's gift helped cultivate the curiosity and awareness that later supported Japan’s rapid adoption of rail transport in the Meiji era.

Figure 6. Revolver From The Time of Perry’s Mission

Source: Tokyo National Museum

Colt Revolver's

The Colt revolvers that Perry brought to Japan became a powerful symbol of Western technology and a new relationship post the Treaty of Kanagawa. When Japan opened its doors a pair of Hartford-made Colt revolvers were part of the gifts Perry gave to the shogun. In return, Japanese weapons and art were given to Samuel Colt, who created a collection in Hartford. The Colt Model 1851 Navy was on of the mostly widely used revolvers, with more than 250000 manufactured between 1850 and 1873. Presenting this weapon to Japanese leaders meant showing a mass-produced handgun from an industrial factory system, where Japanese firearms were carefully crafted matchlocks. In this way the Colt revolver helped to dramatize the technological gap between the United States and Japan and to link the new diplomatic relationship to concrete exchanges of weapons, art, and industrialization.

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