Even before the arrival of Commodore Perry and the U.S. Navy “Black Ships”, many foreign vessels had been seen in and around Japan. Under the threat from foreign nations, Japan’s national opinion about what to do, was divided. The Edo Shogunate, like an old tree, was on the verge of falling.

Perry’s fleet sailed across the Atlantic and Indian Oceans with the goal of finding a supply base in the Far East, eventually arriving off of Uraga. From there, the “door to the opening of Japan to the outside world” was opened.

Huge uproar and excitement offshore Uraga