Russia and Japan: the beginning of the hard journey

Abstract

In the middle of the 18th century, neighboring Russia began to show interest in Japan. Russia acquired vast territories of Eastern Siberia and Far East which made the countries the closest neighbors. In 1648 on the shore of the Sea of Okhotsk the first Russian settlement Kosoy Ostrozhok appeared, which marked the beginning of the development of the new lands of the Far East by Cossack detachments. Russians first learned about Japan from European books describing travels to that country and from the few notes of those Russians who had been to China and got acquainted with Japanese culture there. Before its "opening" in 1853, Japan allowed only the Dutch and Chinese into the country. The closure was partly due to attempts by the Portuguese to convert the Japanese to the Catholic faith, but mainly to protect the country from the threat of European colonialism. Having become Japan's neighbor, the Russians tried to establish ties with Japan with neither religious nor invasive plans. However, despite repeated attempts by Peter the Great and his successors to convince the Japanese, they failed to do so. Russians got there very rarely and only as prisoners, and the Japanese happened to be in Russia after shipwrecks or navigational errors. The more Russia learned about Japan, the stronger was the desire to establish relations with it. Since the beginning of the 18th century Russia repeatedly sent maritime expeditions to explore the Kurils and Sakhalin. Similar efforts were made by the Japanese. These territories, including Hokkaido, were inhabited mainly by the Ainu and Nivkhi, and Russians and Japanese appeared from time to time on these islands, but the attempt to determine their state affiliation was made only in 1855. Until that time all Russian attempts to establish diplomatic and trade relations with Japan had failed. At the same time the result of these efforts was an accumulation of knowledge about each other and a growing mutual interest. Peter's interest in Japan was determined primarily by the fact that Russia's access to the Pacific Ocean required the development of new lands, and trade relations with Japan could be an important element in their economic development.