Commodore Perry in the Land of the Shogun

Last updated

Commodore Perry in the Land of the Shogun is a 1985 children's book by Rhoda Blumberg. This large-format book tells the story of Commodore Perry and the Black Ships that coerced Japan into ending its policy of isolation by establishing commercial and diplomatic relationships with other nations in 1854. The book is illustrated with period prints. [1] Two-thirds of the illustrations are by Japanese artists, the remainder by artists with the American fleet. [2]

Contents

Reception

Told from the perspective of the Americans involved, some reviewers criticized it for underplaying the military threat to Japan implicit in Perry's expedition, and ignoring the broader context of American expansionism. [3] Others praised it for its evenhanded treatment of cultural misunderstanding; a Japanese guest on board one of the Black Shops drinks a glass of olive oil, but an American sailor ashore tastes and buys a bottle of Japanese hair oil thinking it is liquor. [3] Noel Perrin praised the book for telling both sides, "how the Japanese looked to the Americans, but also how the Americans looked to the Japanese;" he called Blumberg's book, "irresistible." [2]

Awards

The book won the 1986 Golden Kite Award, the 1985 Boston Globe–Horn Book Award, and was named a 1986 Newbery Medal honor book. [4]

Details

Commodore Perry in the Land of the Shogun. New York : Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books, 1985. 144 pages. ISBN   9780688037239

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Convention of Kanagawa</span> 1854 treaty between Japan and the US

The Convention of Kanagawa, also known as the Kanagawa Treaty or the Japan–US Treaty of Peace and Amity, was a treaty signed between the United States and the Tokugawa Shogunate on March 31, 1854. Signed under threat of force, it effectively meant the end of Japan's 220-year-old policy of national seclusion (sakoku) by opening the ports of Shimoda and Hakodate to American vessels. It also ensured the safety of American castaways and established the position of an American consul in Japan. The treaty precipitated the signing of similar treaties establishing diplomatic relations with other Western powers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Clavell</span> Australian-British-American novelist (1921–1994)

James Clavell was an Australian-born, British-raised and educated, naturalized-American writer, screenwriter, director, and World War II veteran and prisoner of war. Clavell is best known for his Asian Saga novels, a number of which have had television adaptations. Clavell also wrote such screenplays as those for The Fly (1958), based on the short story by George Langelaan, and The Great Escape (1963), based on the personal account of Paul Brickhill. He directed the popular 1967 film To Sir, with Love, for which he also wrote the script.

<i>Pacific Overtures</i> 1976 musical by Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman

Pacific Overtures is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by John Weidman, with "additional material by" Hugh Wheeler.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lionel Richie</span> American singer (born 1949)

Lionel Brockman Richie Jr. is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and television personality. He rose to fame in the 1970s as a songwriter and the co-lead singer of the Motown group Commodores; writing and recording the hit singles "Easy", "Sail On", "Three Times a Lady" and "Still" with the group before his departure. In 1980, he wrote and produced the US Billboard Hot 100 number one single "Lady" for Kenny Rogers.

<i>Shōgun</i> (novel) 1975 novel by James Clavell

James Clavell’s Shōgun (1975) is a historical novel chronicling the end of Japan’s Azuchi-Momoyama period (1568-1600) and the dawn of the Edo period (1603-1868). Loosely based on actual events and figures Shōgun narrates how European interests and internal conflicts within Japan brought about the Shogunate restoration.

<i>Bakumatsu</i> 1853–1867 final years of the Edo period of Japan

Bakumatsu were the final years of the Edo period when the Tokugawa shogunate ended. Between 1853 and 1867, under foreign diplomatic and military pressure, Japan ended its isolationist foreign policy known as sakoku and changed from a feudal Tokugawa shogunate to the modern empire of the Meiji government. The major ideological-political divide during this period was between the pro-imperial nationalists called ishin shishi and the shogunate forces, which included the elite shinsengumi swordsmen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matthew C. Perry</span> United States Navy officer (1794–1858)

Matthew Calbraith Perry was a United States Navy officer who commanded ships in several wars, including the War of 1812 and the Mexican–American War. He played a leading role in the Perry Expedition that ended Japan's isolationism and the Convention of Kanagawa between Japan and the United States in 1854.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tokugawa Ieyoshi</span> Twelfth shōgun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan

Tokugawa Ieyoshi was the 12th shōgun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan.

John W. Dower is an American author and historian. His 1999 book Embracing Defeat: Japan in the Wake of World War II won the U.S. National Book Award for Nonfiction, the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction, the Bancroft Prize, the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, the Mark Lynton History Prize, and the John K. Fairbank Prize of the American Historical Association.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Townsend Harris</span> American merchant and politician (1804–1878)

Townsend Harris was an American merchant and politician who served as the first United States Consul General to Japan. He negotiated the Harris Treaty between the US and Japan and is credited as the diplomat who first opened Shogunate Japan to foreign trade and culture in the Edo period.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Society of Wood Engravers</span> Society to promote white line wood engravings

The Society of Wood Engravers (SWE) is a UK-based artists’ exhibiting society, formed in 1920, one of its founder-members being Eric Gill. It was originally restricted to artist-engravers printing with oil-based inks in a press, distinct from the separate discipline of woodcuts. Today, its support extends to other forms of relief printmaking, and awards honorary membership to collectors and enthusiasts.

Edwin Noel Perrin was an American essayist and a professor at Dartmouth College,. He was known for writing about rural life.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wilhelm Heine</span> German-American soldier, writer and artist

Peter Bernhard Wilhelm Heine, better known as WilhelmHeine was a German-American artist, world traveller and writer as well as an officer during the American Civil War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abe Masahiro</span> Japanese politician (1819–1857)

Abe Masahiro was the chief senior councilor (rōjū) in the Tokugawa shogunate of the Bakumatsu period at the time of the arrival of Commodore Matthew Perry on his mission to open Japan to the outside world. Abe was instrumental in the eventual signing of the Convention of Kanagawa in 1854. Abe did not sign the treaty himself or participate in the negotiations in person; this was done by his plenipotentiary Hayashi Akira. His courtesy title was Ise-no-kami.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Perry Expedition</span> 1853–54 US naval expedition to Tokugawa Japan

The Perry Expedition was a diplomatic and military expedition in two separate voyages to the Tokugawa shogunate (徳川幕府) by warships of the United States Naval corps. The goals of this expedition included exploration, surveying, and the establishment of diplomatic relations and negotiation of trade agreements with various nations of the region. Opening contact with the government of Japan was considered a top priority of the expedition, and was one of the key reasons for its inception.

Jamie Thomson is a British writer, editor and game developer, and winner of the Roald Dahl Funny Prize 2012.

Maureen Theresa Howard was an American novelist, memoirist, and editor. Her award-winning novels feature women protagonists and are known for formal innovation and a focus on the Irish-American experience.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Firearms of Japan</span>

Firearms were introduced to Japan in the 13th century during the first Mongol invasion and were referred to as teppō. Portuguese firearms were introduced in 1543, and intense development followed, with strong local manufacture during the period of conflicts of the late 16th century. Hōjutsu, the art of gunnery, is the Japanese martial art dedicated to firearms usage.

Rhoda Blumberg was an American author of historical books for children.

<i>We Are Water Protectors</i> 2020 picture book

We Are Water Protectors is a 2020 picture book written by Carole Lindstrom and illustrated by Michaela Goade. Written in response to the Dakota Access Pipeline protests, the book tells the story of an Ojibwe girl who fights against an oil pipeline in an effort to protect the water supply of her people. It was published by Roaring Brook Press on March 17, 2020. The book was well received. Critics praised its message of environmental justice, its depiction of diversity, and the watercolor illustrations, for which Goade won the 2021 Caldecott Medal, becoming the first Indigenous recipient of the award. The book also received the 2021 Jane Addams Children's Book Award winner in the Books for Younger Children category.

References

  1. "Children's Books; Bookshelf". New York Times. 23 June 1985. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  2. 1 2 Perrin, Noel (2003). A Child's Delight. University Press of New England. p. 145. ISBN   1584653523.
  3. 1 2 "Commodore Perry in the Land of the Shogun". Kirkus. 20 January 1985. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  4. Gregory, Christiana (11 May 1986). "Commodore Perry in the Land of the Shogun". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 5 May 2016.