The name Black Ships or Kurofune was given to the Western ships that sailed to Japan during the 15th – 19th centuries. They were seen as black because of the black smoke that came from the American ships and the colour of the earlier vessels which was black.
- Concept of Kurofune with one small modern-day twist
This poster of the arriving black ships is fascinating because it uses the surprise and fear of the historical images of the ships arriving against modern fears for Japanese seas. In fact, it was a poster that was particularly popular a few years ago when the spy ship incident with North Korea was top news.
I thought I would highlight the poster in today’s blog post because I liked the way that Japanese historical events can evoke strong feelings about Japan’s border protection today. What are your thoughts about this poster?
Can you see the man with the horse on his laptop? I liked this addition to the illustration because it is the one indicator that shows the link between historical and modern day concerns of protecting Japanese seas.
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What are your thoughts on this poster of Japan’s border protection and concerns for security?
This comment was originally posted on Reddit
Black Ships, Kurofune Japan http://bit.ly/C8pRj #JBlogs
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
New post featuring the black ships http://bit.ly/9aUVN
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
Great pic. RT @KimonoBox: New post featuring the black ships http://bit.ly/9aUVN
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
I remember reading about this event in a book by James Bradley. The US wanted to trade with Japan, which was a closed country at the time, and sent in warships commanded by Commodore Matthew Perry to force a trade treaty. The Japanese were very distraught by this and asked them to leave, which Perry refused. Since they had no means to evict the Americans Perry was able to get concessions for a trade treaty. The Japanese felt very helpless and some argue that this event ushered the beginning of the militarization of Japan. Before the Americans could get the trade started, however, the civil war broke out and their attention went elsewhere.
This comment was originally posted on Reddit
Excellent point and well written! Interesting how the events of the American Civil War possibly changed history for Japan – what would have happened if the US had not been preoccupied with such a major issue in their own political and social landscape? The ‘what if’s’ of history – always thought provoking!
This comment was originally posted on Reddit
That poster reflects both the early part of American and Japanese relationships. The very early and the moderness of history, between our countries. And still to this day we all still want to protect the borders from any type of threat.
Don’t know if this part of the analogy was intentional, but by the time people saw people saw the Black Ships arriving, it was far too late to do anything about them.
Black Ships, Kurofune Japan | Japan http://bit.ly/hu85E
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
RT @BlogLinkJapan Black Ships, Kurofune Japan http://bit.ly/C8pRj #JBlogs – art as a record as well as expression
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
RT @BlogLinkJapan Black Ships, Kurofune Japan http://bit.ly/C8pRj #JBlogs – art as a record as well as expression – spot the laptop !
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
RT @KerrieAnne: RT @BlogLinkJapan Black Ships, http://bit.ly/C8pRj #JBlogs – art as a record as well as expression – spot the laptop !
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
I think the traditional form of storybooks are far from over. Digital reading hasn’t really taken on (except for blogs and news) int he world. It puts a heavy strain on the eyes to read lots of text off a computer screen. Which is why I’ve put off reading some of the more interesting but long-essay like blog posts till now.
This comment was originally posted on kimonobox.com
Excellent point and well written!
Interesting how the events of the American Civil War possibly changed history for Japan – what would have happened if the US had not been preoccupied with such a major issue in their own political and social landscape? The ‘what if’s’ of history – always interesting!
Good to hear -thanks