Matthew Calbraith Perry (April 10, 1794 – March 4, 1858) was a Commodore of the United States Navy who commanded ships in several wars, including the War of 1812 and the Mexican–American War (1846–1848). He played a leading role in the opening of Japan to the West with the Convention of Kanagawa in 1854.

The exchange of intellectural information, brought to the west coast of the US, new architectural ideas in the form of the ancient Buddhist Temple architecture, translated to the Arts & Crafts, and Craftsman styles here.

The existing West Coast Victorian architecture, with it’s twelve different paint colors, was now revolted against, in favor of the Temple designs and simple theme nuances. No more than two colors were used, on the extended rafter tails, outrigger construction, and sidewall shingles, with the radical new ideology that the details would accent themselves, rather than painting them different colors.