When the Treaty of Kanagawa was signed, Japan opened Shimoda, a harbor located 130 miles from Edo, to the Americans. The Japanese chose the remote harbor at Shimoda in part because they wanted to keep the Americans, who they still considered foreign intruders, at a safe distance from Edo their capital city. Above is the artist's sketch of Shimoda harbor. In the center of the map you can see our ships anchored in the harbor, including the steam ships Powhatan and Mississippi. The harbor was deep enough for our large ships to anchor within rifle shot of land. There at the lower right is the village of Shimoda with about 7,000 residents.

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