Whose 1850s flagship flag was displayed at the 1945 Japanese surrender ceremony?

Matthew Perry’s flagship flag was displayed at the 1945 Japanese surrender ceremony.

The flag came from the U.S. Navy expedition led by Commodore Matthew Perry, who entered Tokyo Bay in 1853–1854 and pressured Japan to open its ports to foreign trade. Its presence at the surrender ceremony created a deliberate historical connection between Perry’s arrival and the end of Japan’s wartime isolation and empire.

The flag was displayed aboard USS Missouri on September 2, 1945. It is sometimes confused with a flag said to have flown over the White House during the Pearl Harbor attack, but the special historic flag at the ceremony was associated with Perry’s expedition.

The flag’s unusual appearance in photographs is also explained by naval display practice: it was shown with the reverse side facing the camera, placing the stars in the upper-right corner. A replica is displayed at the Battleship Missouri Memorial in Pearl Harbor.