{"id":6523,"date":"2026-04-16T13:28:28","date_gmt":"2026-04-16T13:28:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/6523\/"},"modified":"2026-04-16T13:28:28","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T13:28:28","slug":"japans-volcanic-hokkaido-island-reveals-a-historic-tale-surrounding-matthew-perrys-timepiece","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/6523\/","title":{"rendered":"Japan\u2019s Volcanic Hokkaido Island\u00a0Reveals a Historic Tale Surrounding Matthew Perry\u2019s Timepiece\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Plate of sashimi<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Indeed, July 2025 was a good time to travel to an island far removed from the heat in the United States. \u00a0But a flight to Tokyo from New York still was not far enough; it required a connecting flight to Sapporo, Japan to truly distance myself from the chaos playing out in North America.\u00a0 Despite signage spelled out in English, I found few Hokkaido locals and Japanese tourists who spoke it readily, if at all.\u00a0 Yet, it was refreshing.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Painting of the mineral bath<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 The sashimi and Sapporo Classic on tap were a taste of heaven, grounding me in a sense ofcivility and welcome peace.\u00a0 Quietly and respectfully in the mineral baths of mountain-fed Noboribetsu, the hot springs relaxed every bone in my body.\u00a0 \u00a0Sitting naked, alone, in the Founder\u2019s Pool, I witnessed the wooden water wheel delivering pure liquid down wooden channels, enhancing a view of the hellish, volcanic hillside directly in front of me.\u00a0 As if on cue, a deer bolted down the mountainside, following a serpentine path, one no doubt memorized, around the many steaming sulfur vents to drink from the cool waters of the stream nearest to me.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

How\u00a0the United States Helped Develop Hakodate\u00a0as\u00a0a Commercial Powerhouse in 1854<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0As I entered the port city of Hakodate, on this northern-most Japanese island, my eye was drawn to two distinct physical landmarks rising high above the rooftops. The first is was the observatory on Mount Hakodate and the other, is the modern Gory\u014dkaku Tower.\u00a0 The tsunami sirens sit strategically around the city, encouraging me to check the weather app on my phone just to make sure.\u00a0 There was that eruption of Mount Sakurajima on the southern-most Japanese island a few weeks back.\u00a0 A brief check of Yahoo News immediately followed, just to make sure I was not part of a pending news story of natural disasters.\u00a0 But it was only more updates on Trump-fueled Washington politics.\u00a0 No reports of the United States attacking Greenland or Panama.\u00a0 Then, there were\u00a0the\u00a0ketamine\u00a0criminal\u00a0trials taking place in Los Angeles.\u00a0 Something about the Ketamine Queen\u2026another tragic Hollywood story of a celebrity drug overdose, although this time it was not\u00a0propofol and Michael Jackson.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Harbor Sunset Photo taken by Marc Hittner<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Of the four days in Hakodate, two were dedicated to the local food markets along the pier.\u00a0 Hakodate is Hakkaido\u2019s distribution center with its\u00a0massive container port distributing the island\u2019s fish, seafood, produce and beef to the Japanese nation and the\u00a0rest of the world.\u00a0 These markets and related\u00a0food production catapult\u00a0the city to\u00a0internationalstatus, boasting\u00a0of freshness and quality.\u00a0 It was mouthwatering.\u00a0 Next,\u00a0I squeezed in the heights.\u00a0 The Mount Hakodate Ropeway to the observatory attracts Japanese vacationers and day trippers for sunset views and twilight seascapes.\u00a0 While Goryokaku tower offers a slightly lower vantage point, it does present a fabulous cityscape, its focus a magnificent view of the fortress and its gardens directly below, lined with a world renowned 200-year-old grove of cherry blossom trees.\u00a0 The 5 five-point moat creates a perfect pentagon shape. To my eye, European architecture had a little bit to do with the castle design for the moat style.\u00a0 While the observatory is responsible for meteorological tracking of the northern Pacific Ocean between the Sea of Japan and the Bering Sea, the Goryokaku tower offers a wonderful chronological history of the fortress\u2019s creation and subsequent expansion and development of Hakodate as one of Japan\u2019s trade and market hubs.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Hakodate:<\/a>Hakodate: The City of Breathtaking Views<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Buzz in Goryokaku Tower<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0I must admit, I was negligent in doing my homework prior to my arrival in Hakodate.\u00a0 Usually, I watch enough YouTube videos to get an education to the point where I could be the lecturer.\u00a0 But not so on this trip.\u00a0 No closely read hotel brochures beforehand. So, I can only say, when I arrived at the Goryokaku tower grounds, I was startled by the<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Matthew Perry, American and Canadian actor photo by Valerie Jarrett<\/p>\n

sounds murmured from some of the Japanese visitors\u2019 lips.\u00a0 It was quite distinct.\u00a0 I thought I heard the name Matthew Perry softly spoken.\u00a0 Even before entering the queue to purchase tickets,\u00a0parents were whispering the words Matthew Perry in stereo.\u00a0 Were they talking about the late actor Matthew Perry of the television sitcom Friends?\u00a0 I found it odd that Japanese school age children would be introduced to a tv star who recently met his tragic end well after his height of popularity. \u00a0\u00a0Was there such interest in the tragic Hollywood ketamine overdose story? \u00a0<\/p>\n

Matthew Perry Of Black Sails Fame<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Admiral Matthew Perry by Japanese fine prints, pre-1915<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0The light show projection that was part of the elevator ascent immediately pictured a bearish hunk wearing a smartly pressed United States Navy officer uniform, along with medals.\u00a0 \u00a0Oh, so, maybe the Japanese visitors were talking about this older Matthew Perry.\u00a0 Hmmm, I wasn\u2019t aware the actor\u2019s distant relative was the famous American explorer of the Asian Pacific.\u00a0\u00a0So this was the famous Admiral Matthew Perry, the renowned warrior of the waves from the 1800s!\u00a0 Many thoughts raced through my head, possibly linking the star of Friends to this historic figure.<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Stepping out onto the top floor with the breathtaking view, I was immersed in the history exhibit, moving from one display case to the next.\u00a0 It was here I learned about the wide ranging scope of this pseudo-industrialist.\u00a0 \u00a0Admiral Matthew Perry had more to do with the development of the island of Hokkaido than the ruling Japanese Shogunate,\u00a0Japan\u2019s feudal military system of government\u00a0in 1853.\u00a0 I was proud of myself, remembering my eighth grade social studies education that left a lasting impression of America\u2019s China trade of the late eighteenth century.\u00a0 \u00a0I remembered my\u00a0junior\u00a0high\u00a0school discussions about Canton trade, the Boxer Rebellion and how it defined American imperialism in the Pacific in the 1800\u2019s as the U.S. expanded its foreign markets and influence. \u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0In the 1830s, trading vessels, traveling from and protected by the US military base in Guangzhou, attempted entry into Japanese ports but were routinely refused. The exhibits on the top floor of the tower described the history of how Commodore Perry was determined to open up Japan as a necessary port stop for American interests. The northern island of Hokkaido was perfect for U.S. dominance.<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Silently, I couldn\u2019t help but think how today\u2019s Project 2025 seemed to run parallel to America\u2019s back room strategies in the creation of the mid nineteenth century,\u00a0imperialist\u00a0Manifest Destiny\u00a0beliefs, spurred on by monopolistic interests of the time.\u00a0 Steam power was the new driving industrial force for American expansion.\u00a0 \u00a0If Trump\u2019s circle was able to mingle with the likes of Astor, Vanderbilt, and J.P. Morgan, who knows where the U.S. would be today as a nation.\u00a0 \u00a0Luckily for us, there was still a modicum of guardrails holding us on the straight and narrow in the 20th century.<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0It was Commodore Perry\u2019s fame for his naval battles of the Mexican War that found his hat thrown into the ring to propel this new U.S. objective.\u00a0\u00a0America\u2019s President Millard Fillmore and his administration think-tank were desperately seeking safe harbors in the Pacific.\u00a0\u00a0From Guangzhou,\u00a0as Commander Perry\u2019s base of operation, he overtook\u00a0and claimed\u00a0two islands near Japan as U.S. territory.\u00a0 Around that time in 1849, California became\u00a0a state. The famous Gold Rush was on, north of San Francisco.\u00a0 \u00a0It was no coincidence that laborers from the Asian Pacific countries found themselves working on the new steam\u2013powered railroads of America\u2019s western territories.\u00a0 The fur trade from the Pacific Northwest and buffalo meat from the northern plains found\u00a0their\u00a0way to China.\u00a0 American whaling ships in the Pacific North encountered Japanese waters with harsh consequences.\u00a0 The American press painted a hostile picture of Japanese society with stories of imprisoned American sailors.\u00a0 Only the Dutch and Chinese were allowed trade with Japan.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The American Devils Knock At Japan\u2019s Door<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Nowhere was Japan\u2019s anti-American sentiment heard louder than San Francisco\u2019s wharf.\u00a0 Newspapers quickly told its their\u00a0readers the Japanese Emperor was calling the maritime traders \u2018American Devils\u2019\u00a0for attempting entry into Japan.\u00a0 Japanese culture had no interest in Catholicism,\u00a0but\u00a0America\u2019s new burning diplomatic policy included the introduction of Protestant Christian religion to Asia.\u00a0 American sentiment thought Japan would come to see the\u00a0spiritual\u00a0light.\u00a0 \u00a0U.S.\u00a0manifest\u00a0destiny of the mid-19th century drove American merchants and missionaries immediately to Asia.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Japan must have feared Western influence,\u00a0based on the news of the recent Opium Wars in China from 1840 to 1842.\u00a0 The\u00a0insidious\u00a0poppy product suddenly swept over China and\u00a0its\u00a0masses.\u00a0 Addiction was now commonplace.\u00a0 Britain controlled the opium flow from colonial India and forced the illicit product on markets in the Pacific.\u00a0 China revolted but Britain\u2019s warships were too powerful.\u00a0 Commodore Perry took a page from Britain\u2019s playbook in the Orient.\u00a0 Show of strength was an asset that worked.\u00a0 Now he personally saw its effects in Guangzhou and beyond.<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0The powerful American industrialists caballed and began lobbying the U.S. government to sway American ship building away from sail power. As an important advocate, Commodore Perry\u00a0was to forever be\u00a0recognized as\u00a0the father of creation, loudly demanding a steam\u2013powered fleet of the US Navy.\u00a0 \u00a0American ships traveling from California to Guangzhou would need coaling stations along the way.\u00a0 \u00a0There was this insatiable need for coal and Matthew was damn sure it didn\u2019t stop at a California beachfront property.\u00a0 No, Perry\u2019s circle of manifest destiny believers were hellbent on taming the entire Pacific.\u00a0 \u00a0With China trade in their back pocket, faster transportation was needed fast.\u00a0 Navy contracts were quickly established. \u00a0Rumor had it Japan had plenty of coal.\u00a0The U.S. needed Japan as a necessary fueling stop.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Matthew Perry Parts Japan\u2019s Forbidden Waters<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The First Shogun of the Tokugawa Shogunate by Yoshitora Utagawa active ca. 1836-1880<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0With no intimate knowledge of Japanese culture or authority, the Fillmore administration decided to deliver a letter addressed to the Emperor of Japan.\u00a0 Of course, Japan\u2019s real power rested with the Shogun, not the Emperor.\u00a0 President Fillmore sent Commodore Perry to Tokyo Bay with four intimidating black sailing ships known as the Invincible Armada, bearing the peace treaty letter.\u00a0 The Tokugawa Shogunate initially laughed at the attempt, but did accept the letter, along with the gifts that came with it: a working model steam engine, a telescope, a telegraph, and a case of Kentucky bourbon.\u00a0 The senior Shogun, aware of the Opium Wars waged just across the Sea of Japan, did not want a repeat of Britain\u2019s naval weaponry confronting his nation.\u00a0 The warlike appearance of Perry\u2019s Black Sail Fleet must have been a major deciding factor.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

America Cheers With News of Success in the Empire of The Rising Sun<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Perry\u2019s audacity won the Shogun\u2019s approval.\u00a0 The next year \u2014 with Perry\u2019s agreed-return to hear Japan\u2019s official answer \u2014 resulted in the 1854 signing of the Treaty of Kanagawa.\u00a0 With that, the U.S. now joined the European superpowers of Britain, Holland, and France for dominance in the Northern Pacific.\u00a0 It was an international interpretation of manifest desti\"\"<\/a>ny.\u00a0 Immediately, the situation changed\u00a0on the island of\u00a0Hokkaido.\u00a0 American influence was like an invasive species.\u00a0 The English language suddenly was written all over the island.\u00a0 I personally discovered this\u00a0presence\u00a0with\u00a0my\u00a0subsequent stop in Otaru where its famous canal was created as part of the coaling station superstructure.\u00a0 Evidence of \u00a0the\u00a0budding new American dominance\u00a0was found on many old buildings, antique merchandise, public works, and transportation signage.\u00a0 Not surprising, the Hokkaido University in Sapporo was founded by a professor from Massachusetts, as a school initially dedicated to agricultural research the same year the Treaty of Kanagawa was signed.\u00a0 Sapporo did not become designated as\u00a0a city until much later in the century. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0American industry was hard at work on the island.\u00a0 This was Matthew Perry\u2019s most brilliant prize as his service drew to a close.\u00a0 And the Goryokaku Tower exhibit showed, for better or worse, the Shogun\u2019s decision to allow U.S. entr\u00e9e into Japan brought about internal fear of exposure to foreign elements in the northern port city of Hakodate.\u00a0 \u00a0The Shogunate saw the handwriting on the wall.\u00a0 The workings of the outside world were enough to herald the new government\u2019s collapse.\u00a0 Within a decade, the Japanese erected a walled fortress that housed the ministries.\u00a0 Internal conflict divided loyalties.\u00a0 The fortress moats were breached.\u00a0 Ironically, this regional war was engaged at the same time as America\u2019s Civil War.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>But wait, who was\u00a0Oliver Hazard Perry?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Wasn\u2019t his name Oliver Hazard Perry? The one from the War of 1812? Commondore Perry of Lake Erie?\u00a0 Apparently, there were two Perrys of 19th-century naval fame!\u00a0 The history caption about these two could read, \u201cBlack Sails versus the Black Sheep of the Family\u201d.\u00a0 \u00a0I didn\u2019t know they were brothers!\u00a0 \u00a0I was fortunate to have the excellent opportunity to swim in Lake Erie this time last summer\u00a0during a college reunion.\u00a0 I was aware of the famous name Oliver Hazard Perry, as Oliver was best known\u00a0in that region\u00a0for his victories defending the Great Lakes shoreline during the War of 1812.\u00a0 Oliver was the shining light of Erie,\u00a0Pennsylvania.\u00a0 \u00a0But in comparison to his brother Matthew, Oliver was the black sheep of\u00a0this American naval and political family dynasty.\u00a0 \u00a0Apparently, the Perry family tree had plenty of hazards growing from its trunk,\u00a0going back generations.\u00a0\u00a0Oliver Hazard Perry was hot tempered, frequently passed over for promotion, never commissioned higher than Commodore, faced a duel at the same spot where Hamilton was shot by Aaron Burr, and eventually court\u2013martialed.\u00a0 Connections, and probably with a little help from brother Matthew, Oliver found assignments fighting pirates off the Barbary Coast and at the age of 34, the Swashbuckler succumbed to yellow fever in the Caribbean. \u00a0<\/p>\n

The Fifth Generation Matthew Perry Emerges<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Now you know the tale of the Perry nautical tree of the nineteenth century.\u00a0 So, as the elevator descends to the ground floor, our story jumped from the late 1800s forward to the year 2023.\u00a0 Sitting under a column of the cherry blossom trees, I revived my Perry exploration on the internet.\u00a0 I found the previous Google search.\u00a0 The title describes the return of a pocket watch<\/a> belonging to the Admiral.\u00a0 In the calm shade of the garden, I could play the video.\u00a0 Damn! \u00a0How wrong could I be?\u00a0 This wasn\u2019t about the\u00a0lateHollywood actor,\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Matthew Calbraith Perry by Mathew B. Brady<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Matthew Langford Perry of the sitcom Friends,\u00a0presenting the Commodore\u2019s\u00a0antique pocket watch to Japan\u00a09\u00a0months before his death!\u00a0\u00a0This was the fifth\u2013generation\u00a0Perry\u00a0descendant, bearing the\u00a0Admiral\u2019s same name, Matthew Calbraith Perry,\u00a0presenting the\u00a0Perry\u00a0family heirloom\u00a0timepiece\u00a0to the Japanese people in a civilized ceremony,\u00a0on a perch overlooking the harbor.\u00a0 It was a quasi-diplomatic mission, much like the one assigned to his distant,\u00a0celebrated\u00a0relative. Kudos to him!\u00a0And, as it\u00a0turns out, there\u2019s no genealogical connection between the naval dynasty Perry family and the Hollywood Matthew Perry.<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Today\u2019s Hakodate Harbor has witnessed multiple centuries of East-West relations.\u00a0 Shipping into and out of this port establishes important trade and tourism that are mutually beneficial and can be peacefully shared.\u00a0 \u00a0I would think a respectful gift of a pocket watch should be enough to smooth waters between nations. If only things were that easy!\u00a0 In closing, as yesterday\u2019s 8.8 magnitude earthquake off the Russian Peninsula triggers tsunami waves impacting Hokkaido, the rest of the Pacific, we citizens of the planet would be wise to regard the quake\/tsunami as another realtime reminder that it is Mother Earth who holds the ultimate power to affect our lives and wellbeing, not the puny gestures of small-minded, mortal tyrants. \u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Plate of sashimi \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Indeed, July 2025 was a good time to travel to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6524,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[5961,5962,3805,5963,5964,153,8,5965,5966,5967,5968,5969,5970,5971,951,5827,3278,5972,5973,668,5974],"class_list":["post-6523","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-hokkaido","tag-black-sails","tag-coaling-stations","tag-earthquake","tag-goryokaku","tag-hakodate","tag-hokkaido","tag-japan","tag-lake-toya","tag-manifest-destiny","tag-matthew-c-perry","tag-matthew-perry","tag-mount-hakodate-observatory","tag-oliver-hazard-perry","tag-ring-of-fire","tag-sapporo","tag-shogun","tag-tsunami","tag-u-s-navy-steamship","tag-unesco-eco-park","tag-volcano","tag-wagyu-beef"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6523","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6523"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6523\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6524"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6523"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6523"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6523"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}