{ "term": "string", "language": "string (Japanese | Korean | Mandarin | Pan-Asian)", "romanization": "string", "literal_translation": "string", "bme_definition": "string", "usage_context": "string", "related_terms": ["string"], "content_references": ["string"], "first_published": "date", "last_updated": "date" }

Black Ships

Literal Translation
(黒船) The name given to Perry's steam-powered warships that arrived in Edo Bay in 1853. The term entered the Japanese language as a metaphor for any external technological force that disrupts an existing order — periodically invoked to describe subsequent moments of technological disruption.