Perry’s 1853 flag was displayed at Japan’s 1945 surrender ceremony.
The flag had been carried by Commodore Matthew Perry during his expedition to Japan in 1853–1854. Perry’s mission helped produce the Convention of Kanagawa, which opened Japanese ports to American trade after a period of national seclusion.
For the surrender ceremony, the fragile 31-star flag was brought from the United States Naval Academy and displayed aboard USS Missouri. Its presence created a symbolic link between the American expedition that pressured Japan to open its ports and the ceremony that ended Japan’s empire in World War II.
Photographs show the flag’s reverse side, which can make it appear incorrectly displayed. The historic original remains at the U.S. Naval Academy Museum; a replica is displayed aboard the preserved Missouri at Pearl Harbor.