The arrival of Commodore Perry's Black Ships in 1853-1854 and the subsequent development of wireless equipment by the Japanese Navy have a deep and direct relationship in the history of Japanese telecommunications, representing both a "technological starting point" and a "passing of the baton of human resources."
There are three main important connections:
1. Japan's first Morse code communication (the origin of everything):
During his second visit in 1854, Perry presented the shogunate with an "embossing Morse telegraph" as a gift from the President of the United States.
He laid approximately 1 km of wire from the reception hall in Yokohama and conducted a public experiment in which he instantly transmitted and received the words "JEDO" and "YOKOHAMA."
This marked the beginning of the history of telecommunications (Morse code) in Japan.
The radio equipment later developed independently by the Japanese Imperial Navy was also based on the communication using "Morse code" (spark-type wireless telegraph) that Perry brought at this time.
2. The Drama of Family Connections:
The Main Player in the Development The greatest contributor to the development of the Japanese Navy's radio equipment was the genius scientist Shunkichi KIMURA.
In fact, his father had a deep connection with Perry.
Shunkichi KIMURA's father was Settsu-no-kami (Yoshitaka) KIMURA, who served as the Shogunate's Commissioner of Finance during the late Edo period.
Setsu-no-kami KIMURA was the commanding officer of KANRIN MARU, Japan's first Western-style warship, who led Kaishu KATSU and others across the Pacific Ocean after Japan opened its doors to the world following Perry's arrival.
There is a strange twist of fate in history that the son (Shunkichi) of a shogunate official who was forced to open the country by Perry became a central figure in the development of wireless equipment to protect Japan from foreign threats during the Meiji era.
3. Completion of the Type 36 Wireless Telegraph and Victory in the Russo-Japanese War:
Approximately 50 years after Perry's arrival, the Japanese Imperial Navy, led by Shunkichi KIMURA and others, succeeded in completely independently developing the Type 36 Wireless Telegraph, which had world-class performance.
During the Battle of Tsushima in 1905, the SHINANO MARU, equipped with this radio, spotted the Russian Baltic Fleet and sent a telegram saying: "Enemy ships sighted," which allowed the Japanese Navy to prepare a perfect interception and achieve a historic victory.