Japan's self-imposed isolation was breached by the
very real commodore matthew perry of the us navy,
who sailed into tokyo bay uninvited and demanded that
the japanese begin to trade with the us. here's a snatch
of the letter from the president of the united states that
perry delivered to the japanese emperor:
many of the large ships-of-war destined to visit
japan have not yet arrived in these seas, and the
undersigned, as an evidence of his friendly
intentions, has brought but four of the smaller ones,
designing, should it become necessary, to return to
edo in the ensuing spring with a much larger force.
-a history of the world in 100 objects,
neil macgregor
how does the letter support macgregor's point?
o it demonstrates how willingly japan agreed to trade
with the united states.
o it gives an example of a different interpretation of
the wave in the artwork
o it provides an illustration of how the us navy
threatened to use force to open japanese ports.
o it describes japan's reaction to the united states'
forceful letter