When the Americans arrived in Shimoda, Japanese people had been isolated for over two centuries. They had little opportunity for contact with people of other nations, especially non-Asians. Japanese were most familiar with Chinese because they traded through the port of Nagasaki. At this time, all foreigners in Japan were called t_jin" or "Man from China." A few Chinese served as stewards on Perry's ship. The standing Chinese here, who seems to be wearing an apron, may be such a steward.

The U.S. Navy at the time included a variety of people of African descent. They served as deckhands and cooks, though some held higher positions. When Perry presented the American President's letter to the Japanese, he had two black sailors serve as armed guards to the young men who carried the boxes containing the documents. This must have impressed the Japanese, as the Japanese had very little contact with blacks. The first Blacks to visit Japan had come with the Portuguese and Spanish in the sixteenth century. They were often depicted on the scrolls and screens of the early sixteenth century as "southern barbarians." The portrait of the black man shown here reflects their lack of contact with Africans, and how the artist relied on his own cultural perceptions.

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