Black Ships
The Black Ships (in , Edo period term) was the name given to Western vessels arriving in Japan in the 16th and 19th centuries.

In 1543 Portuguese initiated the first contacts,establishing a trade route linking Goa to Nagasaki. The large carracks engaged in this trade had the hull painted black with pitch, and the term came to represent all Western vessels. In 1639, after suppressing a rebellion blamed on the influence of Christian thought, the ruling Tokugawa shogunate retreated into an isolationist policy, the Sakoku. During this "locked state", contact with Japan by Westerners was restricted to Dejima island at Nagasaki.

In 1844, William II of the Netherlands urged Japan to open, but was rejected. On July 8, 1853, the U.S. Navy steamed four warships into the bay at Edo and threatened to attack if Japan did not begin trade with the West. Their arrival marked the reopening of the country to political dialogue after more than two hundred years of self-imposed isolation. Trade with Western nations would not come until the Treaty of Amity and Commerce more than five years later.

In particular, kurofune refers to "Mississippi", "Plymouth", "Saratoga", and "Susquehanna" of the Perry Expedition for the opening of Japan, 1852–1854, that arrived on July 14, 1853, at Uraga Harbor (part of present-day Yokosuka) in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan under the command of United States Commodore Matthew Perry. "Black" refers to the black color of the older sailing vessels, and the black smoke from the coal-fired steam engines of the American ships. In this sense, the kurofune became a symbol of the ending of isolation.
Q184963
Edo period
Concept
Q178630
Portuguese
Concept
Q1171
Goa
LOC
Q38234
Nagasaki
LOC
Q220635
carrack
Concept
Q840692
pitch
Concept
Q696217
a rebellion blamed on the influence of Christian thought
EVE
Q205662
Tokugawa shogunate
Concept
Q309310
isolationist
Concept
Q332075
Sakoku
Concept
Q640267
Dejima
LOC
Q38234
Nagasaki
LOC
Q154287
William II of the Netherlands
PER
Q11220
U.S. Navy
Concept
Q1194699
Treaty of Amity and Commerce
MEDIA
Q3486721
"Mississippi"
MISC
Q7872957
"Plymouth"
MISC
Q7873861
"Saratoga"
MISC
Q5226955
"Susquehanna"
MISC
Q7169780
the Perry Expedition for the opening of Japan, 1852–1854
MEDIA
Q2735604
Uraga Harbor
LOC
Q200578
Yokosuka
LOC
Q127513
Kanagawa Prefecture
LOC
Q17
Japan
LOC
Q30
United States
LOC
Q844242
Commodore
PER
Q61855
Matthew Perry
PER
Q24489
coal
Concept
Q1136943
Black Ships
UNK
1543-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1543
DATE
1639-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1639
DATE
1844-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1844
DATE
1853-07-08T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
July 8, 1853
DATE
1852-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1852
DATE
1853-07-14T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
July 14, 1853
DATE
+16^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
16
NUMBER
+19^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
19
NUMBER
+1854^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
1854
NUMBER
country
start time
country of registry
vehicle
vehicle
vehicle
vehicle
participant
significant event
located in the administrative territorial entity
country
located in the administrative territorial entity
country
country
commander of (DEPRECATED)
country of citizenship
military rank