Written and introduced by Bernard Keeffe

Moving slowly across the windless bay the black steamships broke in upon the enclosed and mysterious Empire of Japan. The year was 1853 and for over two centuries the country had forcibly shut out the Western World. Commodore Perry's fleet - itself a miracle since the Japanese had never before seen steamships - shattered this long seclusion.

In the sites of ancient Japan where the events took place and using the extraordinarily vivid accounts which each side gave of the other, Bernard Keeffe tells the story of these first dramatic encounters.
For the Japanese the 'Coming of the Black Ships' set in motion a series of events which were to lead ultimately to Pearl Harbour, to Hiroshima, and to Japan's present position in the world.