Matthew Perry's flag was displayed at Japan's surrender ceremony aboard USS Missouri.
The flag had been carried by Commodore Matthew Perry during his 1853 expedition to Japan. Perry's mission helped force the opening of Japan to American trade and diplomacy after a long period of restricted foreign contact. The flag was brought from the United States Naval Academy and displayed during the September 2, 1945, ceremony.
Its presence created a symbolic link between two turning points in United States–Japan relations. Perry's expedition had begun a new era of contact, while the surrender ceremony marked the end of Japan's wartime empire and the beginning of the Allied occupation.
The flag was not the central American flag associated with the ceremony. A separate U.S. flag was also displayed aboard Missouri, and later accounts have sometimes confused its origin. Perry's flag was specifically placed in the background as a historical symbol. The surrender took place near the area where Perry had anchored almost 92 years earlier.