Matthew Perry’s expedition flag was displayed aboard USS Missouri during Japan’s 1945 surrender ceremony.
Perry was the U.S. Navy commodore whose 1853 expedition pressured Japan to open relations with the United States. The flag associated with that expedition was brought from the United States and placed aboard Missouri for the surrender ceremony in Tokyo Bay.
The display created a deliberate historical contrast: Perry’s ships had helped force an opening of Japan to foreign trade, while Missouri hosted the formal conclusion of a devastating war between the two countries. The flag was kept in a protective frame and displayed near the ceremony site.
The flag is sometimes confused with a contemporary battle flag or with the American flag used by President Harry Truman. The Perry flag was an older historical artifact chosen because of its connection to the earlier opening of Japan.