Russians meeting Japanese in Akkeshi 1779

Pavel Sergeyevich Lebedev-Lastochkin (Russian: Павел Сергеевич Лебедев-Ласточкин) was a

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

merchant from

Yakutsk Yakutsk (russian: Якутск, p=jɪˈkutsk; sah, Дьокуускай, translit=Djokuuskay, ) is the capital city of the Sakha Republic, Russia, located about south of the Arctic Circle. Fueled by the mining industry, Yakutsk has become one of ...

who, in the late 18th century, became one of the first Russians to make contact with the

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

. The government had hoped to enlist the efforts of private merchants, to help them open Japan at far less cost to the government than if they had sent official emissaries or military. Lastochkin volunteered for the mission, seeking the profits from either Japanese trade goods or furs from

Hokkaidō is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel. The la ...

. His first attempt failed entirely when his ship sank in the

Sea of Okhotsk The Sea of Okhotsk ( rus, Охо́тское мо́ре, Ohótskoye móre ; ja, オホーツク海, Ohōtsuku-kai) is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean. It is located between Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula on the east, the Kuril Islands ...

. But he, along with another merchant named

Grigory Shelikhov Grigory Ivanovich Shelikhov (Григо́рий Ива́нович Ше́лихов in Russian) (1747, Rylsk, Belgorod Governorate – July 20, 1795 (July 31, 1795 New Style)) was a Russian seafarer, merchant, and fur trader who perpetrated t ...

, was granted trade monopoly over the

Kuril Islands The Kuril Islands or Kurile Islands (; rus, Кури́льские острова́, r=Kuril'skiye ostrova, p=kʊˈrʲilʲskʲɪjə ɐstrɐˈva; Japanese: or ) are a volcanic archipelago currently administered as part of Sakhalin Oblast in the ...

(a string of islands extending north from Japan to Siberia). The plan was to sail to

Uruppu Urup ( ja, 得撫島, Uruppu-to; russian: Уру́п, Urúp, ain, ウルㇷ゚, Urup) is an uninhabited volcanic island in the Kuril Islands chain in the south of the Sea of Okhotsk, northwest Pacific Ocean. Its name is derived from the Ainu la ...

, one of the islands, with an expedition crew and about 40 settlers. They would set up a small colony town near Uruppu, and try to persuade some Ainu to guide them down to Japan. This second expedition failed as well when, after reaching Uruppu in the summer of 1775, the ship sank in a storm. Lastochkin tried yet again, this time bringing a number of extra ships. It was now 1778, and the expedition met with the Lords of

Matsumae clan The was a Japanese clan that was confirmed in the possession of the area around Matsumae, Hokkaidō as a march fief in 1590 by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and charged with defending it, and by extension the whole of Japan, from the Ainu "barbarians" ...

, the Japanese guardians of the northern borders, for the first time. They bestowed gifts upon the ''samurai'' lords, and asked to trade. The ''samurai'' informed Lastochkin's party that they did not have the authority to make such agreements on behalf of the ''

shōgun , officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamakur ...

'', but that they should return the following year. Doing so, Lastochkin's gifts were returned, forbidden to return to Hokkaido, and informed that he should inquire at

Nagasaki is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. It became the sole port used for trade with the Portuguese and Dutch during the 16th through 19th centuries. The Hidden Christian Sites in the ...

, on the southern island of

Kyūshū is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding Okinawa). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surround ...

, and inconveniently far from Russian holdings, if he wished to trade. Latoschkin returned to Uruppu to plan his next move. In 1779, an earthquake caused a massive ''

tsunami A tsunami ( ; from ja, 津波, lit=harbour wave, ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater explo ...

'', which tossed the Russian ship some distance inland. This finally convinced Latoschkin to give up on seeking trade with Japan. However, despite his failure to 'open' Japan to trade, he was still one of the first, if not the very first, Russian to meet Japanese, in Japan, in any official capacity.

References

*McDougall, Walter (1993). ''Let the Sea Make a Noise: Four Hundred Years of Cataclysm, Conquest, War and Folly in the North Pacific''. New York: Avon Books.

References

See also