In the 12th month of Kaei 6 (1853), Kawaji Toshiakira faced Russian envoys at Nagasaki’s West Magistrate’s Office. The first discussion began at 9am and continued through all-day heavy rain until 4pm. 6 people appeared at the meeting.
The point of entry was how to read the reply letter issued by the senior councilor. The envoy opened by saying that the 2 articles submitted on the 15th day — namely fixing the border and opening trade — should be the agenda. Kawaji added the reservation that as for the border, he could only go as far as a preliminary discussion. On trade, his explanation was that the samurai spirit was strong, and it was difficult to change what the ancestors had decided. The envoy pressed that he could not wait 3 or 5 years, and insisted that he himself had been entrusted with everything.
The point of contention was one phrase in the letter, that the present could not be judged by old precedent. The envoy read this as a statement revising the prohibition on trade, while Kawaji explained that reading through to the latter part showed the meaning was that it was hard to decide right away. Tokutomi Sohō writes that the meaning of the letter was extremely ambiguous, and that it seems rather natural that the envoy misread it. In the afternoon the talk moved to the islands of the north, and he was asked whose territory Etorofu was. Kawaji answered that all the Kurils of Ezo were subordinate islands of Japan beyond doubt, and also said that listing things not found in the government’s letter would provoke the anger of the Japanese people.
On the 22nd day of the 12th month came the second discussion. Kawaji confirmed whether the idea was to divide Sakhalin around 50 degrees north latitude. The envoy answered that only about 20 Japanese lived at Aniwa port, and since there were signs that foreign countries were watching, troops had been placed there. He further stated that a new mountain for mining coal had been opened on the Japanese side from the center of the island, and that he understood the greater part to be Russian territory. In the notes added in red by Tsutsui and Kawaji to their report to the senior councilor, it is recorded that they had never even heard of that mountain, and Sohō sees this as showing the Japanese side was entirely passive.
To the claim that Etorofu had originally been inhabited only by Russians, Kawaji retorted that this was a misunderstanding. The envoy named Osaka as a port, along with Matsumae or Hakodate, and the red-ink notes urge caution at how well he seemed to know the terrain of Osaka. At this session Kawaji spoke frankly, saying that although they themselves wished to hurry, if it were reported to the capital and the daimyo of that region made to investigate, it would take 3 or 5 years. He also said that most Japanese thought of Westerners as like tigers or bears, and that the confusion could not be resolved by the words of 2 people. The day before, gifts had arrived from both sides, and items for the shogun had also been presented.
The next day, the 23rd, Kawaji received a document of 4 articles from the Russian side at his lodging. These were: to fix in writing that the phrase in the letter was a statement permitting trade; that the whole of the Kurils belonged to Russia; that first 2 ports be opened near Edo and at Matsumae island; and so on. Kawaji wrote in his diary that the previous day’s talk was the same as a breakdown, no different from a dispute in litigation. Sohō, while saying that fact and reason lay mostly on the envoy’s side, credits Kawaji and the others with working to keep things going without producing a major rupture.
What the two exchanges at Nagasaki turned upon can be followed from Kawaji Toshiakira’s memoir and diary, the red-ink notes added to the report to the senior councilor, Ōsawa Heitetsu’s Nagasaki diary, and Sohō’s assessment.
Kawaji’s Question and the Envoys’ Acceptance
In Nagasaki it rained heavily all day from morning.Original
At nine in the morning, the Russian envoys appeared at the West Magistrate’s Office.Original
The two men did not leave their seats until four in the afternoon.OriginalOriginal
In his notes that night, Kawaji recorded the first question he had asked.Original
“It is said in the world that Russia is a nation of tigers and wolves. Is this so, or is it a nation of trust and righteousness? Which is it?”Original
He confronted them directly, asking whether Russia was truly said to be a land of wolves and tigers, or rather a land of trust and righteousness.Original
Having reasoned at length that if they upheld principle they should follow Japan’s position, he persuaded them, and the envoys accepted this readily.Original
They said they would not enter Etorofu, would not touch Sakhalin, and would withdraw the troops they had sent.OriginalOriginal
右島之儀、追て境定之節に至、證據さへ有之候はゞ、夫丈けは、いくらも貴國え相返シ可申、且守兵差置候段も、右場所を取候譯には無之候間、呉々右之趣に可被存候
Open the original page at the National Diet LibraryIt felt as though things would proceed smoothly from here.Original
Tokutomi Sohō remarks that these notes “read as though matters had gone unexpectedly well.”Original
But he continues that as one reads further into the written record of the exchange, the impression changes considerably.OriginalOriginal
The Conflict over Interpreting the Reply
The starting point of the negotiations was how to read the senior councilor’s reply.Original
The envoys said they had read the reply in both the Chinese text and the Dutch translation, and understood its meaning.Original
On that basis, they opened by stating that the two articles submitted on the fifteenth—the fixing of the border and the opening of trade—ought to be subjects for discussion.OriginalOriginal
Kawaji answered regarding the border that “only a general discussion of the matter would be possible.”Original
It was a qualified reply, allowing only a general discussion.Original
As for trade, he said it was as stated in the reply.Original
“The customs of our country are such that the warrior spirit is strong, and it is exceedingly difficult to change the laws handed down from our ancestors.”Original
This was an explanation that Japan’s warrior temperament was strong, and that changing ancestral law was extremely difficult.OriginalOriginal
The envoys would not yield.Original
A delay of three or five years was unacceptable.Original
They said that even America would not accept such a postponement.Original
He himself had been entrusted with full plenipotentiary authority.Original
They pressed further, saying that if the two envoys had to consult their government over every matter, these negotiations would be useless, and that there would be no choice but to negotiate directly with the senior councilors.Original
Kawaji pushed back, saying that this reply was not their own but the senior councilor’s, and that the answer would not change no matter where in Japan one went.OriginalOriginal
A single phrase in the reply became the point of contention.Original
“One cannot judge present affairs by old precedent.”Original
This was the wording, meaning that today’s matters could not be settled by old customary practice.Original
The envoys read this as meaning that the Japanese government had already lifted the ban on trade.Original
Kawaji explained that taken alone, that one phrase might sound that way, but read together with what followed, it meant “it is difficult to settle the matter immediately”—that is, that an immediate decision was difficult.Original
Tsutsui added that the shogun’s mourning had only just ended, that the rites for the heir had not yet been completed, and that this was a time of many pressing state affairs.OriginalOriginal
The envoys spoke.Original
Nearly a year had passed since the Americans came, and it had already been half a year since they themselves had arrived here.Original
Waiting for years on end was impossible, but they said, “if it is a matter of one or two months, we shall wait in any case”—meaning they could wait one or two months.Original
Here Tokutomi Sohō inserts a remark of his own.Original
He writes that the senior councilor’s reply was quite ambiguous in its wording, and that if the Russian envoys misunderstood it, the misunderstanding itself seems almost natural.OriginalOriginal
使節扨御諭に、追て境界を定候時に至り候ては、互に睨合ても居れぬ故、遂に親しく可相成と御申に候得共、旣に今日箇樣に及御對話候も、畢竟隣國之好を以、かゝる御取扱にも相成候儀に有之候、左候時は所願之條々追て之事に不被致、早々御取極被下候はゞ、於政府も難有存べし。-猶申立度存ずる條々は、書面を以、申述べし
Open the original page at the National Diet LibraryEtorofu and Sakhalin
In the afternoon, the discussion turned to the northern islands.Original
The envoys asked a question.Original
Whose territory did Japan now consider these islands to be?Original
Kawaji answered at once.Original
All of the Kuril Islands of Ezo were Japanese dependent islands without exception, and their very names were originally Ezo words.Original
Since then, no foreigners had been placed on Etorofu, and its lords had maintained guard posts there.Original
“It has always been our territory, without the least doubt.”Original
It was, he said, territory of Japan without any doubt whatsoever.OriginalOriginal
The envoys replied that Urup had been Russian territory a hundred years earlier, that in recent years Americans had gone there to hunt, and that until fifty years ago only Russians had lived on Etorofu.Original
Then their tone grew firmer.Original
They said that the envoys’ various arguments, which went beyond what was in the government’s letter, could hardly be the government’s true intention.Original
If that were the government’s true stance, they said, then talk of communication and trade would be impossible, and “it would give rise to anger in the hearts of our people”—it would provoke the anger of the Japanese people.OriginalOriginal
As for Sakhalin, Kawaji explained that troops had been sent only because the inhabitants along the Amur River had asked to belong to Russia and needed protection, that this was not an encroachment on Japanese territory, and that unless the border were fixed, it would obstruct the passage of foreign ships.OriginalOriginal
サカレンは、素々我國人住居之地にはあらず。先年アンモル(黑龍江)え我-國之者罷越候處。彼住民共、我國え屬せんことを願ふに付、我主の命に依て、軍卒を差遣し、彼土を爲守候事にて、日本所屬之地え手出し等致候儀には無之、右境界聢と取極不申候ては、外國之もの通航之差障にも相成候間、境界相定度存ずる所なり
Open the original page at the National Diet LibraryThe Nagasaki diary of Ōsawa Heitetsu also records the events of this day.Original
On this day the envoys wore ordinary dress, landed using three boats, came without flags or music, and were few in number.Original
Six men appeared at the meeting.Original
Lunch and refreshments were taken in the waiting room.Original
The envoys said they wished to settle on two ports for their ships to enter, that somewhere near Matsumae and the waters near Edo would be suitable, and that Nagasaki was inconvenient.Original
They said that since they could not possibly wait three or five years, they wished for an answer by the day after tomorrow after due consideration.Original
Kawaji and Tsutsui told them that an answer could not be given so hastily, and the day’s meeting ended there.OriginalOriginal
The Twenty-Second Day of the Twelfth Month: The Fiftieth Parallel and the Coal Mountain
On the twenty-second day of the twelfth month, the second round of negotiations took place.OriginalOriginal
The first thing Kawaji confirmed was Sakhalin.Original
“Do you intend to divide the island at the boundary of fifty degrees or above on Sakhalin?”Original
This was a question asking whether they intended to split the island in half around fifty degrees north latitude.Original
The envoy replied that they did not consider a place where Japanese people lived and Japanese officials came to be their own country’s territory.Original
However, when Russians had recently gone to Aniwa port, there were only “about twenty” Japanese there, a mere twenty or so people.Original
Since there were signs that other countries were watching for an opportunity, troops had been stationed there.Original
They said that once it was established to be Japanese territory they would withdraw promptly, but pressed that if the troops became accustomed to living there, withdrawal would become difficult.OriginalOriginal
日本所領に相違無之趣相分候はゞ、早々引拂はすべし乍去兼ても申候通、其所に居馴染候樣相成候ては、容易爲引拂候儀も難相成勢に至候事故、急速之取極を希ふ所なり
Open the original page at the National Diet LibraryThe envoy then brought out a further new fact.Original
The red-ink notes that Tsutsui and Kawaji attached to their report to the senior councilors convey the disturbance felt at this point.Original
That there was a coal mountain was something “never before heard of,” something they had never heard until now.Original
Sohō describes this moment by saying, “we were entirely in the posture of one receiving the blow.”Original
He says that, not even knowing the present situation in detail and only learning new facts from the other side’s words, one should recognize how unprepared we were.OriginalOriginal
On the matter of Etorofu too, the envoy pressed further.Original
Originally, they said, only Russians had lived there, and Japanese came later.Original
Kawaji shot back, “that is a misunderstanding.”Original
He said that Ezo and the Kuriles appear in old records too, and that Etorofu was decidedly Japanese territory, and that otherwise the negotiations would be pointless.Original
The envoy said that it seemed only Ainu lived on Etorofu and that no Japanese lived there.Original
Kawaji responded that the Ainu were Ezo people and subjects belonging to Japan, and that wherever the Ainu were was Japanese territory.Original
The envoy replied that the Ainu in the north of the island were under Russian rule and did not belong to Japan.OriginalOriginal
Sohō’s judgment here is severe.Original
He writes that the facts rather favored the Russian envoy’s arguments, which were based on actual observation, while “ours were mere empty theorizing from the clouds.”Original
He says one should be able to tell without being told which argument was sharper and which was duller.Original
The envoy returned to the subject of ports, proposing that if the waters near Edo were not possible, then Osaka, and for the other location either Matsumae or Hakodate.Original
The red-ink note states that the envoy seemed to know the terrain of Osaka well, as though he had long had his eye on it, and that caution was needed.
Sohō records that this matter of opening Osaka later turned into the question of opening Hyōgo, causing trouble that lasted until the final days of the shogunate.OriginalOriginal
Kawaji’s Candid Disclosure of Internal Circumstances
In the second round of negotiations, Kawaji spoke candidly about his own country’s internal circumstances just once.Original
In response to the envoy’s urging, Kawaji said, “though we too feel as if we could fly there,” meaning that they themselves felt just as eager, but that reporting to the capital and having the daimyo of that region investigate would take three to five years.Original
And he went on.
He said that most Japanese knew nothing of the West, and that many thought of Westerners as though they were tigers or bears, which was truly a troubling state of affairs.Original
He said that he and his companions had devoted themselves to Western learning and knew this was not so, but that the confusion of the multitude could not be dispelled by the words of just two people.OriginalOriginal
左衞門尉先づ我等一言申聞度儀有之、我國は西洋諸國と違ひ、自國之者外邦え到候儀は無之、坐して外邦之船之到るを待故、異國通商は國之痛に相成、益には相成不申、尤是は貴國え對し、申述候には無之、自餘國々を以申所なり
Open the original page at the National Diet LibraryKawaji answered that it took sixty days to reach Edo and twice that to reach Sakhalin, and asked, in order to avoid conflict, that a small party be sent to survey the area, and requested that a document be issued for this.OriginalOriginal
Then followed a discussion of the benefits of trade.Original
He also touched on the gifts that had arrived the previous day.Original
Tsutsui received a large mirror with a candlestick attachment, a pair of large cut-glass sweet boxes, and a lady’s parasol; Kawaji received a mantel clock for astronomical use, a yellow-glass sweet box, and a lady’s parasol; Arao Narimasa received a gold-rimmed square mirror and a set of sake vessels.Original
Nakamura Tameya and Kikuchi Daisuke also received clocks and vases.Original
Kawaji said that although he would like to exchange such favored items for garments to withstand the cold, he was troubled that so much wealth should be spent on such costly goods.Original
The envoy gave an example, saying that Santan timber, just as Japanese paper was cheaper than Russian glass, was very inexpensive, and that paper sliding doors were cheap but easily damaged, whereas glass lasted long.Original
Kawaji’s reply was, “might this too be called a kind of reasoning?”Original
That is, whether this too might be said to have some logic to it.OriginalOriginal
Gifts to be presented to the shogun were also brought forward.Original
One large square mirror, a triptych standing mirror, a gilt-flowing mantel clock, large and small flower-patterned rugs, two pink-glass vases, and two bolts of gold-thread brocade.OriginalOriginal
The Twenty-Third Day, Clear
The following day, the twenty-third, was clear.Original
Kawaji held a meeting at his lodgings in Nagasaki and received a document from the Russian side.Original
It was a letter dated the twentieth, in the name of Naval Captain Poshetto.OriginalOriginal
Kawaji’s diary records the following.Original
“What happened yesterday was as good as a broken negotiation. The mood was no different from a lawsuit dispute.”Original
What had been discussed the previous day amounted to a breakdown, and the atmosphere was no different from a legal dispute.Original
People laughed, saying it was probably because the other side had repeatedly been forced into a corner in argument the day before.OriginalOriginal
Kawaji writes that he had bested the Russian envoy through reasoning, but the Russian side had probably thought the very opposite.Original
Sohō declares flatly that “in fact and in reason, the Russian envoy’s side was strong and abundant, while Kawaji and his companions’ side was slight and weak.”Original
Even so, he says, that the negotiations proceeded without a major breakdown and without a great display of weakness was owed to the merit and effort of Kawaji and his companions.OriginalOriginal
Having read the record of the first exchange, Sohō wrote that the Japanese side was on the defensive, offering excuses and explanations for everything, while Russia pressed forward step by step.Original
And in the same passage, he also wrote that whether it was Tsutsui or, especially, Kawaji, they were probably the best negotiators available at the time.Original
This is a double judgment: on the defensive, and yet the best available.Original
Sohō may well have seen it this way: Kawaji, amid eight hours of heavy rain, himself voicing the internal state of a country where Westerners were thought of as “tigers or bears,” and yet still going on to speak of three to five years.Original
It can also be read that the weight of these negotiations lay in that single line of red ink, the moment they first heard from the other side about the coal mountain.Original
此の問答を見れば、兎角日本側は受身にて、何事も申し譯やら、辯解やらにて、露國の方は、攻勢を取りて、歩一步、我に向て迫り來りつゝある態度が分明だ
Open the original page at the National Diet Library| Source text | Kinsei Nihon kokuminshi, Perry’s Arrival and Its Time (1929). National Diet Library Digital Collections (PDM). PID 3431222 |
| Checked against | Ishin shiryō kōyō, vol. 1 (1937). PID 1046665 |
| Dates and names | The text has 1 dates, but they have not been checked against the calendar. None of them gives a Japanese era year in the text, so there is no year to check them against. Of the 1 people named in the text, 1 also appear in Ishin shiryō kōyō, vol. 1. |
| English gates | 119 of 119 sentences passed the checks on the English text. |
This article is a reading of Kinsei Nihon kokuminshi, Perry’s Arrival and Its Time. Tokutomi Sohō’s views are those of the 1920s and 1930s and may differ from current scholarship. The source text is a century old and may differ from current scholarship.
