Whose earlier expedition supplied the historic flag displayed during Japan’s surrender ceremony?

Commodore Matthew Perry’s expedition supplied the historic flag displayed during Japan’s surrender ceremony.

The flag was associated with Perry’s 1853 expedition to Japan, which sought to open Japanese ports to American trade. Perry’s arrival helped lead to the Convention of Kanagawa in 1854, ending Japan’s long policy of national seclusion toward the United States.

When USS Missouri entered Tokyo Bay for the surrender ceremony, the flag was displayed as a historical reference to Perry’s earlier arrival. The placement linked two major moments in U.S.-Japanese relations: the opening of contact in the nineteenth century and the end of the Pacific War in 1945.

The flag is sometimes described imprecisely as having flown on Perry’s flagship. Historical accounts distinguish the displayed flag from the exact flag used aboard Perry’s vessel, so the safest identification is the flag associated with Perry’s expedition.