Perry Expedition - Black Ship Scroll

Kin-kai-ki-kan [“Extraordinary appearance off the coast of Kanagawa”]. Kanagawa Guusha: Otsuki Bankei (1801-1878), editor, Kawata Tekisai (1806-1859), calligrapher, March 1854

ca. 22 sheets of Japanese tissue joined end to end in a scroll, 10 ¾ in. x 31 ft.10 in.; 298 x 9710 mm, 14 watercolor images including portraits, landscapes, ships, and details of a Colt revolver, a boat howitzer, and a train by Kuwagata Sekishisi (d. 1855), Takakawa Bunsen (1818-?), and Seki Ranryo (1805-1865); a few light marginal stains. On a wooden roller with a silk tie, in a wooden box; black silk wrapper deteriorated.

Hayashi Family (inscription on box cover: "Hayashi Family, a family treasure, scroll")

(on Luo-Sen, or Rashin) see De-min Tao, “Negotiating Language in the Opening of Japan: Luo-Sen’s Journal of Perry’s 1854 Expedition” in Japan Review 17 (2005), 91-119; (on the scrolls at the Honolulu Academy of Arts and at the Japan Society of San Francisco, including a picture of Luo-Sen on page 54) see O. Statler, The Black Ship Scroll (Tokyo: 1965)

a few light marginal stains. On a wooden roller with a silk tie; black silk wrapper deteriorated.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

A magnificent visual record of the second visit of Commodore Perry in the Spring of 1854 to Kanagawa, where, and at which time, he signed the Treaty of Amity and Friendship, opening Japan to American trade, written in the hand of the calligrapher who penned that Treaty, Kawata Tekisai, and with two poems by the Chinese interpreter Luo Sen.

The American visit to Japan in 1853 and the return in 1854 provoked widespread curiosity, fear, anger and commentary. Much of this was the intention of Commodore Perry who arrived with the most modern warships carrying cannon, pistols, and other marvels of American technology. The extant Black Ship scrolls were one way these marvels were recorded, some concentrating on the appearance and personal habits of the Americans, some on their military formations, and others on their military technology.

The present example focuses on military technology, with images of Perry’s steam frigate, a grand view of Edo Bay with Perry’s nine ships at anchor, detailed images of other ships in the squadron, a boat howitzer, five figures of officers and enlisted men, a passenger car for a train, a coal carrier, an engine, and of particular interest, highly detailed images of a Colt 1851 Navy Revolver with front, back, and side view of the powder flask, a nipple wrench, and bullet mold. Such is the level of detail that even the serial numbers of the pistols are depicted, as is the Samuel Colt address on the revolver's frame. These images combine selections from two scrolls (now at Tokyo, Waseda University) where the names of the artists are noted.

The present scroll has, in place of a regular colophon, two poems composed by Luo-Sen (ca. 1821-ca.1899), one of the most colorful figures on the Perry expedition. He was hired in Shanghai by Samuel Wells Williams (1812-1884), the expedition’s chief interpreter, to help him polish his Chinese translations and copy them in elegant calligraphy that would impress Japanese officials. “It was Williams’ good fortune to retain the services of an educated Chinese man with an open-minded attitude about the world outside China …” (Tao) who was interested in western sexual relations, and got along well with the Japanese. Luo-Sen was very handsome and spent time walking in Kanagawa (and later in Shimoda), writing attractive inscriptions for people on their fans, and shopping. In Yokohama, Hakodate, and Shimodo, Luo quickly received hundreds of requests from commoners and samurai officials for samples of his poetry written on their fans. He wrote a journal of the expedition which was published by Wells in English translation.

“In Yokohama early in April 1854, he had been sought out by a scholar of the Sendai domain named Otsuki Bankei (1801-1878)” (Tao) who visited him on the Powhatan where they exchanged poems. Otsuki Bankei is responsible for the compilation of the present scroll and Luo's poems are written in his fine cursive Chinese hand.

The scroll was handed down in the Hayashi family, and it should be noted that the chief Japanese negotiator for the Kanagawa Treaty was Hayashi Daigaku-no-Kami, who received a copy of Audubon's Quadrupeds (among other gifts) from the Perry expedition (S.W. Williams, Journal, 1910, p. 132).

A translation of the scroll is available on request.

Partial Census of scrolls (and fragments thereof):

1.       Providence, RI, Brown University Library, Anne S. K. Brown Collection. “Request for a good relationship,” 12 images. Prov: Wang Zhiben (1835?–1907).

2.       Honolulu Academy of Art. “The Black Ship Scroll.”

3.       San Francisco, Japan Society. Incomplete and dismembered.

4.       Newport, RI. Naval War College. 13 framed segments.

5.       London, British Library. Recent purchase.

6.-20. Ryosenji Treasure Museum, 14 scrolls.

21.     Nagasaki Prefecture, framed segments.

22.     Salem, MA, Peabody Essex Museum, framed segments.

23.     Tokyo, University of Tokyo, Shiryo Hensanjo. 1 scroll showing American military formations.

24.     Tokyo, Waseda University Library. 2 scrolls, ca. 30 plates.

25.     Tokyo, Edo-Tokyo Museum. 1 scroll by the same editor (Otsuki Bankei), heavily wormed.

26.     Providence, RI, Brown University, John Hay Library, 1 scroll.

27.     Newport, RI, Naval War College, scroll fragments

28.     New Haven, CT, Beinecke Library, 1 scroll, 31 x 1017 cm, "Meriken nyushin no zu."

Sotheby's wishes to thank Megumi Hill for her valuable aid in the preparation of this description.