Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The main prayer hall (Haiden) at Naminoue, Okinawa
'
s primary Shinto shrine.
The 1926 memorial to Bettelheim at Naminoue Shinto Shrine.
When Commodore Matthew C. Perry (1794-1858) came to Japan in 1853, Bettelheim
went aboard his ship to meet him. Through his understanding of the language and culture,
Bettelheim was uniquely qualified to act as an intermediary between the Ryukyuan authorit-
ies and the visiting Americans. His relations with Perry were good and he was able to act as
an advisor and agent. Later, in 1854, he left (his wife and children had departed separately a
few months earlier) on another of Perry's voyages and resettled in the United States.
