Bureau of Engraving and Printing - 5c Opening of Japan Centennial plate proof - June 23, 1953 - Unisex Heavy Cotton Tee Design

This design reproduces a 1953 engraved plate proof for the 5c Opening of Japan Centennial postage stamp, U.S. #1021, printed by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing.

Visual Elements & Composition

Commodore Matthew C. Perry stands in his official uniform at the centre of the scene, with his Black Ships sailing into Edo (Tokyo) Bay. Mount Fuji rises in the background, and Japanese observers watch the arrival from the shore. A separate portrait of Perry sits in the upper right corner. The fine line work of the engraving gives the ships, water and landscape their crisp, dense detail.

Meaning & Symbolism

The stamp marks the 100th anniversary of Perry's mission of July 1853. That mission led to the 1854 Convention of Kanagawa, which ended more than two hundred years of Japanese national isolation and opened trade with America. The Black Ships represent the arrival of American power and diplomacy, while Mount Fuji anchors the image in Japan. Issued on July 14, 1953, in Washington, D.C., the plate proof is a fine example of mid-twentieth-century engraved stamp design and records a turning point in maritime and diplomatic history.

Worn as a Story

A tee carries its image across the body, so the scene stays in view as you move. Perry's portrait, the ships and the shoreline read as a single composition when you wear it, much as they do on the stamp. The design gives the shirt a clear historical subject you can talk about.