Hildreth's "Japan as It Was and Is": A Handbook of Old Japan, Volume 2 (of 2)

by Richard Hildreth

CHAPTER XLIII

Golownin’s Capture and Imprisonment—Conveyance to Hakodate—Reception and Imprisonment—Interpreters—Interviews with the Governor—Removal to Matsumae—A Pupil in Russian—A Japanese Astronomer—Escape and Recapture—Treatment afterwards—Savans from Yedo—Japanese Science—European News—A Japanese Free-thinker—Soldiers—Their Amusements—Thoughts on a Wedding—Domestic Arrangements—New Year—Return of the “Diana”—Reprisals—A Japanese Merchant and his Female Friend—Second Return of the “Diana”—Third Return of the “Diana”—Interview on Shore—Surrender of the Prisoners—Japanese Notification—The Merchant at Home—The Merchant Class in Japan—A.D. 1811-1813.

While, by the first interruption of the communication with Batavia, Doeff and his companions were secluded at Deshima, a number of Europeans were held in a still stricter imprisonment at the northern extremity of Japan.

Captain Golownin, an educated and intelligent Russian naval officer, had been commissioned in 1811, as commander of the sloop of war “Diana,” to survey the southern Kurile Islands, in which group the Russians include both Sakhalin and Yezo, which they reckon as the twenty-first and twenty-second Kuriles. At the southern extremity of Etorofu, the nineteenth Kurile, some Japanese were first met with (July 13). Soon after, Golownin, with two officers, four men, and a Kurile interpreter, having landed at a bay on the southern end of Kunashiri, the twentieth Kurile, where the Japanese had a settlement and a garrison, they were invited into the fort, and made prisoners. Thence they were taken, partly by water and partly by land, to Hakodate, already mentioned as a Japanese town at the southern extremity of Yezo. This journey occupied four weeks, in which, by Golownin’s calculation, they travelled between six and seven hundred miles. The Japanese stated it at two hundred and fifty-five of their leagues. The route followed was along the east coast of the island. Every two miles or so there was a populous village, from all of which extensive fisheries were carried on, evidently the great business of the inhabitants. The fish were caught in great nets, hundreds at once. The best were of the salmon species, but every kind of marine animal was eaten. The gathering of sea-weeds for food (of the kind called by the Russians sea-cabbage[91]) also constituted a considerable branch of industry. In the northern villages the inhabitants were principally native Kuriles, with a few Japanese officers. Within a hundred and twenty or thirty miles of Hakodate the villages were inhabited entirely by Japanese, and were much larger and handsomer than those further north, having gardens and orchards, and distinguished by their scrupulous neatness; but even the Kurile inhabitants of Yezo were far superior in civilization and comforts to those of the more northern islands belonging to Russia.

When first seized by the Japanese, the Russians were bound with cords, some about the thickness of a finger, and others still smaller. They were all tied exactly alike (according to the prescribed method for binding those arrested on criminal charges), the cords for each having the same number of knots and nooses, and all at equal distances. There were loops round their breasts and necks; their elbows were drawn almost into contact behind their backs, and their hands were firmly bound together. From these fastenings proceeded a long cord, the end of which was held by a Japanese, who, on the slightest attempt to escape, had only to pull it to make the elbows come in contact with great pain, and so to tighten the noose about the neck as almost to produce strangulation. Their legs were also tied together above the ankles and above the knees. Thus tied, they were conveyed all the way to Hakodate, having the choice, for the land part of the route, either to be carried in a rude sort of palanquin formed of planks, on which they were obliged to lie flat, or to walk, which they generally preferred as less irksome, and for which purpose the cords about the ankles were removed, and those above the knees loosened. The cords were drawn so tight as to be very painful, and even after a while to cut into the flesh; yet, though in all other respects the Japanese seemed inclined to consult the comfort of the prisoners, they would not, for the first six or seven days, be induced to loosen them, of which the chief reason turned out to be their apprehension lest the prisoners might commit suicide,—that being the Japanese resource under such extremities.

Their escort consisted of from one hundred and fifty to two hundred men. Two Japanese guides from the neighboring villages, changed at each new district, led the way, bearing handsomely-carved staves. Then came three soldiers, then Captain Golownin with a soldier on one side, and on the other an attendant with a twig to drive off the gnats, which were troublesome, and against which his bound hands prevented him from defending himself. Behind came an officer holding the ends of the ropes by which the prisoner was bound, then a party of Kuriles, bearing his kago, followed by another relief party. The other captives followed, one by one, escorted in the same manner. Finally came three soldiers, and a number of Japanese and Kurile servants carrying provisions and baggage. Each of the escort had a wooden tablet, suspended from his girdle, on which were inscribed his duties and which prisoner he was stationed with; and the commanding officer had a corresponding list of the whole. The prisoners had the same fare with the escort,—three meals a day, generally of rice boiled to a thick gruel, two pieces of pickled radish[92] for seasoning, soup made of radishes or various wild roots and herbs, a kind of macaroni, and a piece of broiled or boiled fish. Sometimes they had stewed mushrooms, and each a hard-boiled egg. Their general drink was very indifferent tea, without sugar, and sometimes sake. Their conductors frequently stopped at the villages to rest, or to drink tea and smoke tobacco, and they also rested for an hour after dinner. They halted for the night an hour or two before sunset, usually in a village with a small garrison. They were always conducted first to the front of the house of the officer in command, and were seated on benches covered with mats, when the officer came out to inspect them. They were then taken to a neat house (which generally, when they first entered, was hung round with striped cotton cloth), and were placed together in one apartment, the ends of their ropes being fastened to iron hooks in the walls. Their boots and stockings were pulled off, and their feet bathed in warm water with salt in it. For bedding they had the Japanese mattresses—quilts with a thick wadding—folded double.

After the first six or seven days their bonds were loosened, and they got on more comfortably. The Japanese took the greatest care of their health, not allowing them to wet their feet, carrying them across the shallowest streams, and furnishing them with quilted Japanese gowns as a protection against the rain.

At Hakodate they were received by a great crowd, among which were several persons with silk dresses mounted on horses with rich caparisons. “Both sides of the road,” says Golownin, “were crowded with spectators, yet every one behaved with the utmost decorum. I particularly marked their countenances, and never once observed a malicious look, or any sign of hatred towards us, and none showed the least disposition to insult us by mockery or derision.” He had observed the same thing in the villages through which they had passed, where the prisoners had received, as they did afterwards, from numerous individuals, many touching instances of commiseration and sympathy.

At Hakodate they were confined in a prison, a high wooden enclosure, or fence, surrounded by an earthen wall somewhat lower (and on their first approach to it hung with striped cloth),[93] inside of which was a long, barn-like building. Within this building were a number of small apartments, scarcely six feet square, formed of thick spars, and exactly like cages, in which the prisoners were shut up, the passages and other spaces being occupied by the guards.[94] Their food was much worse than on the journey (probably Japanese prison fare), boiled rice, soup of warm water and grated radish, a handful of finely chopped young onions with boiled beans, and one or two pickled cucumbers or radishes. Instead of the radish-soup, puddings of bean-meal and rancid fish-oil were sometimes served. Very rarely they had half a fish, with soy. Their drink was warm water, and occasionally bad tea.

Their only means of communicating with the Japanese had been, at first, a Kurile, one of the prisoners, who knew a little Russian, and probably about as much Japanese. At Hakodate another interpreter presented himself; but he, a man of fifty, naturally stupid, and knowing nothing of any European language, except a little Russian, did not prove much better.

The second day they were conducted through the streets, by a guard of soldiers (the prisoners each with a rope round his waist held by a Japanese), to a fort or castle, which was surrounded by palisades and an earthen wall. Within was a court-yard, in the centre of which was a brass cannon on a badly constructed carriage. From this court-yard Golownin, and after him each of the others, was conducted through a wide gate, which was immediately shut behind them, into a large hall, of which half had a pavement of small stones. The other half had a floor, or platform, raised three feet from the ground, and covered with curiously wrought mats. The hall was fifty or sixty feet long, of equal breadth, eighteen feet high, and divided by movable screens, neatly painted, from other adjoining rooms. There were two or three apertures for windows, with paper instead of glass, admitting an obscure, gloomy light. The governor sat on the floor, in the middle of the elevated platform, with two secretaries behind him. On his left (the Japanese place of honor) was the next in command; on his right, another officer; on each side of these, other officers of inferior rank. They all sat, in the Japanese fashion, with their legs folded under them, two paces apart, clothed in black dresses, their short swords in their girdles, and their longer ones lying at their left. The new interpreter sat on the edge of the raised floor, and an inferior officer at each of the corners of it. On the walls hung irons for securing prisoners, ropes, and various instruments of punishment. The Russian prisoners stood in front of the raised floor, the officers in a line, the sailors behind. The Kurile was seated on the stones. They underwent a very rigorous and particular examination, all their answers being written down. The questions related to their birthplaces; their families (and, when it appeared that they came from different towns, how it happened that they served on board the same ship); the burden and force of their vessel; their own rank; their object; their route since leaving St. Petersburg, which they were required to trace on a chart, etc., etc.

Coolies carrying Bamboo Baskets; An Irrigation System

An Irrigation System
Farm Scenes

Among other things, the governor remarked that Laxman (who had visited Japan in 1792) wore a long tail, and covered his hair with flour; whereas the prisoners (powder and queues having gone out of fashion in the interval) had their hair cut short and unpowdered; and he asked if some change of religion had not taken place in Russia. When told that in Russia there was no connection between religion and the way of wearing the hair, the Japanese laughed, but expressed great surprise that there should not be some express law on the subject.

Eighteen days after, they had a second examination, on which occasion a letter, of which the Japanese wanted an interpretation, was delivered to them. It had been sent on shore from their ship along with their baggage, expressing a determination to return to Okhotsk for reinforcements, and never to quit the coast of Japan till the prisoners were rescued. This reexamination was continued for two days, in which many inquiries were made about Chwostoff, and the papers he had left behind him, one of which was produced. The Russian prisoners tried to make out that the proceedings of Chwostoff were without authority from the Russian government; but the Japanese evidently did not believe them.

After one or two more examinations they were removed to Matsumae, guarded, as before, by soldiers, but furnished with horses, as well as litters or kagos, on or in which the prisoners were suffered to ride, the Japanese, however, retaining the end of a rope by which they were still bound. Near Matsumae, they were shown a battery on a high hill, intended to command the harbor, but ill adapted for that purpose. It had three or four small brass pieces on carriages, and an eighteen or a twenty-four pounder, apparently cast in Europe, mounted on cross-beams. Matsumae lies on a large, open bay, with four fathoms of water at low tide; and according to the Japanese, is about two hundred of their leagues (five hundred miles) from Yedo, the land journey thither, after crossing the strait, being made in twenty-three days.

A great crowd collected to see them enter the town, ropes being stretched to keep the passage clear. Confined in a prison much like the one at Hakodate, and close under the ramparts of the castle, they underwent many more examinations before the bugiō or governor of Matsumae. The inquisitiveness of their questioners, which seemed to be without limit, proved a great torment to the Russians, and sometimes put them into a passion; but the Japanese were always cool and polite. They were supplied with much better food than at Hakodate, fresh and salt fish, boiled or fried in poppy-seed oil, with soy for sauce. They also had, after the winter set in, flesh of sea-dogs, hares, and bears, and attempts were even made to cook for them after the Russian fashion. For drink they had tea[95] and warm sake. They were furnished with warm clothing, both their own which had been sent on shore for them; and Japanese gowns, for which a tailor was sent to measure them; and, when the weather grew colder, they had hearths, after the Japanese fashion, made in the prison, at a little distance from each cage, on which charcoal fires were kept burning. A physician visited them daily to look after their health, and if anything serious appeared he brought a consulting physician with him.

After a time their accommodations were much improved. Instead of confinement in separate cages, they had a large room covered with mats. A young man, named Murakami Teisuke, was now brought to them, whom they were requested to instruct in the Russian language. He proved a very apt scholar, made rapid progress, soon learned to speak, read and write Russian, and became very much attached to his instructors. They in their turn learned something of Japanese; but it was forbidden to teach them the written characters. Teisuke was exceedingly anxious to collect statistical information concerning Russia. A Japanese man of science, who had an English sextant, a compass, a case of mathematical instruments, etc., also paid them a visit. He knew how to find the latitude by observing the sun’s altitude at noon, using in his calculations some tables obtained, as he said, from a Dutch book; and he was exceedingly anxious to gain additional information, especially how to find the longitude by lunar observations; but this, for want of the necessary tables, the Russians, much to his disgust, were unable to teach him.

The first snow fell about the middle of October, but soon melted. The winter set in about the middle of November, with deep snows, which lasted till April.

As the spring opened they were permitted to take walks and excursions in the vicinity of the town, and were presently removed to a house, composed of three apartments, separated by screens; but were still closely watched and guarded. Tired of this confinement, of which they could see no end, the Russians succeeded in getting out of their prison, and in gaining the mountains back of the town, whence they descended to the coast, hoping to find some means of escape by sea. But, after seven days’ wanderings and many sufferings, they were retaken. The island was found to be composed of steep hills, separated by precipitous ravines, with hardly any plain land, except near the coast. The interior was uninhabited, except by wood-cutters employed in getting timber and preparing charcoal.

When retaken, they were confined in the common jail of the town, but their accommodations were not worse than they had been in the other two prisons. No ill-will was shown towards them by any of the officials, not even by those whose lives their flight had endangered. The soldier who was held the most responsible for their escape, and who had been degraded in consequence to the rank of a common servant, showed even more alacrity than before in their behalf. In a month or two they were removed back to their former prison, where they were visited the next spring (1814) by an interpreter of the Dutch language, who had come from Yedo, and by a learned man from the same capital, who was indeed no other than Doeff’s astronomer Globius, but known to the Russians as Adachi Sanai, both of whom desired to learn the Russian language. The interpreter, a young man of twenty-seven, and already acquainted with the rules of European grammar, made rapid progress, and soon applied himself to translate a treatise on vaccination, which one of the returned Japanese had brought from Russia. The astronomer busied himself in translating a Russian school treatise on arithmetic, carried to Japan by one of the Japanese conveyed home by Laxman in 1792. It was evident that he had considerable mathematical learning. The Japanese astronomers had made decided progress since the time of Thunberg. Globius understood the Copernican system, was acquainted with the orbit and satellites of Uranus; knew the nature and doctrine of sines and tangents, and was familiar with the difference between the old and new styles. He assured Golownin that the Japanese could calculate eclipses with much exactness, and he studied with great attention a treatise on physics, which, with other books, had been sent on shore in Golownin’s chest.

Nor were the Japanese without knowledge of the revolutions going on in Europe. The Russians were told the news of the taking of Moscow, brought to Nagasaki by the two vessels from Batavia; but with patriotism equal to that shown by Doeff, in relation to the annexation of Holland to France, they refused to believe it. The Japanese gave them a minute description of these two vessels, and also of the elephant which they brought, his length, height, thickness, food, etc. A native of Sumatra, the keeper of the elephant, was described with equal minuteness.

Teisuke, whom Golownin had taught Russian, was found to be quite a free-thinker, both in politics and religion; but, in general, the Japanese seemed very superstitious, of which, presently, we shall see some instances.

The soldiers Golownin observed to be of two classes, those of the local administration, and others whom he calls imperial soldiers, and who appear, by his description, to be precisely the same with those whom Kämpfer describes under the name of Dōshin, as attached to the service of the governor of Nagasaki, and indeed, this same name, in a modified form, is given to them by Golownin. They took precedence of the others, and were so handsomely clothed and equipped as to be mistaken at first for officers. The profession of arms, like most others in Japan, is hereditary. The arms of the soldiers, besides the two swords, were matchlocks,—which, when they fired, they placed, not against the shoulder, but the right cheek,—bows and arrows, and long pikes, heavy and inconvenient.

They could all read, and spent much time in reading aloud, which they did much in the same droning, half-chanting tone in which the psalms are read at funerals in Russia. Great surprise was expressed that the Russian sailors were unable to read and write; and, also, that but one Russian book was found in the officer’s baggage, and that on much worse paper, and much worse bound, than those they had in French and other languages. It was shrewdly asked if the Russians did not know how to print books?

Playing at cards and draughts was a very common amusement. The cards were at first known to the Japanese by their European names, and were fifty-two in the pack. Owing, however, to the pecuniary losses—for the Japanese were great gamesters—and fatal disputes to which cards gave rise, they were strictly prohibited. But this law was evaded by the invention of a pack of forty-eight cards much smaller than those of Europe. Their game at draughts was extremely difficult and complicated. They made use of a large board, and four hundred men, which they moved about in many directions, and which were liable to be taken in various ways. The Russian sailors played at draughts in the European way, which the Japanese soon learned to imitate, so that the game, and the Russian terms employed in playing it, soon became familiar throughout the city of Matsumae.

The following anecdote throws some light on Japanese domestic relations: “Our interpreter, Uyehara Kumajirō (this was the first interpreter), visited us the day after the marriage of his daughter, and having mentioned the marriage, said that he had wept very much. ‘Why wept,’ said we, ‘since on such occasions it is usual only to rejoice?’ ‘Certainly,’ he answered, ‘I should have rejoiced, were I but convinced that the man will love my daughter and make her happy; but, as the contrary often happens in the married state, a father who gives his daughter to a husband cannot be indifferent, for fear of future misfortunes.’ He spoke this with tears in his eyes, and in a voice which affected us.”

Of the value which the Japanese put upon female society the following curious instance occurred. The prisoners’ meals were at one time superintended by an old officer of sixty, who was very civil, and frequently consoled them with assurances that they should be sent home. One day he brought them three portraits of Japanese ladies, richly dressed, which, after examining, they handed back; but the old man insisted they should keep them, and, when asked why, he observed that, when time hung heavy on their hands, they might console themselves by looking at them!

For the first fortnight of the new year all business was suspended. Nothing was thought of except visiting and feasting. In the latter half of the month the more industrious resumed their employments. All who can, procure new clothes on this occasion, and the Japanese insisted upon furnishing their prisoners in the same way. “Custom requires,” says Golownin, “that each person should visit all his acquaintances in the place in which he resides, and send letters of congratulation to those who are at a distance. Our interpreters and guards were accordingly employed, for some days previous to the festival, in writing letters of that kind and visiting-cards. On the latter the names of the person from whom the card comes, and for whom it is intended, are written, and the opportunity by which it is presented is also noted. Teisuke translated for us one of his congratulatory letters, addressed to the officer at Kunashiri by whom we had been entrapped, and which was to the following effect: “Last year you were happy, and I greatly desire that this new year you may enjoy good health, and experience happiness and prosperity in every undertaking. I still respect you as formerly, and request that you will not forget me.

Teisuke.”

It is evident, from Golownin’s narrative, that the houses, furniture, and domestic arrangement, at Matsumae, notwithstanding the coldness of the climate, differed in nothing from those in use in the more southerly islands. The Japanese, Golownin observed, were, compared with the Russians, very small eaters. They were also much more temperate in drinking, it being looked upon as disgraceful to be drunk in the daytime, or at any time, extraordinary festivities excepted.

Repairing Wooden Clogs

Repairing Tatami

Late in the summer following the capture of Golownin and his companions, the “Diana,” now under the command of Captain Rikord, came back to Kunashiri. Of the two Japanese seized by Chwostoff, one had died. The other, who called himself Ryōzayemon, Rikord had on board, along with six other Japanese, lately shipwrecked on Kamtschatka, hoping to exchange these seven for the seven Russians. On reaching the bay where Golownin had been taken, he saw a new battery of fourteen guns. All the buildings were covered with striped cloth, the boats were drawn up on the shore, and not a person appeared.

Ryōzayemon, in his six years’ captivity, had learned some Russian, and he was employed to write a short letter from Captain Rikord to the commander on shore, stating his having brought back the seven Japanese, and requesting the restoration of his countrymen. From some circumstances, the good faith of Ryōzayemon was suspected, and the contents of the letter written by him rather distrusted; still it was finally sent on shore by one of the Japanese, upon whom the batteries fired as he landed, and who returned no more.

Three days after, a second Japanese was sent with a written message in the Russian language; but he came back, saying that the governor had refused to receive it, and that he had been himself thrust out of the castle. As a last resource, Ryōzayemon—who represented himself as a merchant, and a person of some consequence, though in fact he had been only a fishing agent—was sent on shore, with another Japanese, on his promise to return with such information as he could obtain. He did return, without the other, and stated that the Russians were all dead. Sent on shore to obtain in writing a confirmation of this verbal statement, he came back no more.

Rikord now determined to seize any Japanese vessel that might be entering or leaving the harbor. A large Japanese ship soon appeared, from which, as the Russian boats approached her, several of her crew of sixty men jumped into the water. Nine were drowned, some escaped to the shore, and others were picked up by the Russian boats. The captain, who was taken on board the “Diana,” appeared, from his rich yellow dress, his swords, and other circumstances, to be a person of distinction. Being interrogated in Japanese, of which Rikord had picked up a little from Ryōzayemon, he answered with great frankness that his name was Takataya Kahei, that he was the owner of ten ships, and bound from Yetorofu (the nineteenth Kurile) to Hakodate with a cargo of dried fish, but had been obliged by contrary winds to put into the bay of Kunashiri.

Being shown the letter written by Ryōzayemon, he exclaimed, “Captain Moor[96] and five Russians are now in the city of Matsumae.” This information was hardly credited, and Rikord finally resolved to convey his captive to Kamtschatka, hoping, in the course of the winter, to obtain through him some information respecting the fate of the Russians, and the views of the Japanese government, especially as he seemed far superior to any of the Japanese with whom they had hitherto met, and therefore more likely to understand the policy of those who ruled in Japan.

“I informed him,” says Rikord, “that he must hold himself in readiness to accompany me to Russia, and explained the circumstances which compelled me to make such an arrangement. He understood me perfectly, and when I proceeded to state my belief that Captain Golownin, Mr. Moor, and the rest of the Russian prisoners had been put to death, he suddenly interrupted me, exclaiming, ‘That is not true. Captain Moor and five Russians are living in Matsumae, where they are well treated, and enjoy the freedom of walking about the city, accompanied by two officers.’ When I intimated that we intended to take him with us, he replied, with astonishing coolness, ‘Well, I am ready’; and merely requested that, on our arrival in Russia, he might continue to live with me. This I promised he should do, and likewise that I would carry him back to Japan in the ensuing year. He then seemed perfectly reconciled to his unlooked-for destiny.

“The four Japanese, who still remained on board the ship, understood not a word of Russian, and were, besides, so afflicted with the scurvy[97] that they would, in all probability, have perished had they wintered in Kamtschatka. I therefore thought it advisable to set them at liberty, and, having furnished them with every necessary, I ordered them to be put on shore, hoping that they would, in gratitude, give a good account of the Russians to their countrymen.[98] In their stead, I determined to take four seamen from the Japanese vessel, who might be useful in attending on Kahei, to whom I left the choice of the individuals. He earnestly entreated that none of the seamen might be taken, observing that they were extremely stupid, and that he feared they would die of grief, owing to the dread they entertained of the Russians. The earnestness of his solicitations led me in some measure to doubt that our comrades were really living in Matsumae, and I repeated, in a decided manner, my determination to take four of the seamen. He then begged that I would accompany him to his ship. When he went on board, he assembled the whole of his crew in the cabin, and, having seated himself on a long cushion, which was placed on a fine mat, requested that I would take my place beside him. The sailors all knelt down (seated themselves on their heels?) before us, and he delivered a long speech, in which he stated that it would be necessary for some of them to accompany us to Russia.

“Here a very affecting scene was exhibited. A number of the seamen approached him, with their heads bent downwards, and, with great eagerness, whispered something to him. Their countenances were all bathed in tears; even Kahei, who had hitherto evinced calmness and resolution, seemed now to be deeply distressed, and began to weep. I for some time hesitated to carry my resolution into effect, and was only induced to adhere to it by the consideration that I would hereafter have the opportunity of interrogating each individual separately, and probably thereby ascertaining whether or not our comrades were really alive in Matsumae. I had, however, in other respects, no reason to repent of this determination, for the Japanese merchant, who was accustomed to live in a style of Asiatic luxury, would have experienced serious inconvenience on board our vessel without his Japanese attendants, two of whom were always, by turns, near his person.

“Kahei, and the sailors he selected, soon behaved as though our ship had been their own, and we, on our side, employed every means to convince them that we considered the Japanese, not as a hostile, but as a friendly nation, with whom our good understanding was only accidentally interrupted.

“The same day we received on board, at my invitation, from the captured vessel, a Japanese lady, who had been the inseparable companion of Kahei on his voyage from Hakodate, his place of residence, to Etorofu. She was extremely desirous of seeing our ship, and the strange people and polite enemies, as she styled us, and to witness our friendly intercourse with her countrymen. A Japanese lady was also, to us, no slight object of curiosity. When she came on board, she appeared very timid and embarrassed. I requested Kahei to conduct her into my cabin, and, as she advanced, I took her by the other hand. On reaching the cabin-door, she wished to take off her straw shoes; but, as there were neither mats nor carpets in my cabin, I explained to her, by signs, that this singular mark of politeness might be dispensed with among us.

“On entering the cabin, she placed both hands on her head, with the palms outwards, and saluted us by bending her body very low. I conducted her to a chair, and Kahei requested her to sit down. Fortunately for this unexpected visitor, there was on board our vessel a young and handsome woman, the wife of our surgeon’s mate. The Japanese lady seemed highly pleased on being introduced to her, and they quickly formed an intimacy. Our countrywoman endeavored to entertain the foreigner with what the women of all countries delight in—she showed her her trinkets. Our visitor behaved with all the ease of a woman of fashion; she examined the ornaments with great curiosity, and expressed her admiration by an agreeable smile. But the fair complexion of our countrywoman seemed most of all to attract her attention. She passed her hands over the Russian woman’s face, as though she suspected it had been painted, and, with a smile, exclaimed, ‘Yoi! yoi!’ which signifies good. I observed that our visitor was somewhat vain of her new ornaments, and I held a looking-glass before her that she might see how they became her. The Russian lady placed herself immediately behind her, in order to show her the difference of their complexions, when she immediately pushed the glass aside, and said, ‘-Warui! warui!’—not good. She might herself have been called handsome; her face was of the oval form, her features regular, and her little mouth, when open, disclosed a set of shining black lackered teeth. Her black eyebrows, which had the appearance of having been pencilled, overarched a pair of sparkling dark eyes, which were by no means deeply seated. Her hair was black, and rolled up in the form of a turban, without any ornament, except a few small tortoise-shell combs. She was about the middle size, and elegantly formed. Her dress consisted of six wadded silk garments, similar to our night-gowns, each fastened round the lower part of the waist by a separate band, and drawn close together from the girdle downwards. They were all of different colors, the outer one black. Her articulation was slow, and her voice soft. Her countenance was expressive and interesting, and she was, altogether, calculated to make a very agreeable impression. She could not be older than eighteen. We entertained her with fine green tea and sweetmeats, of which she ate and drank moderately. On her taking leave, I made her some presents, with which she appeared to be much pleased. I hinted to our countrywoman that she should embrace her, and when the Japanese observed what was intended, she ran into her arms, and kissed her with a smile.”

The Japanese merchant, at Rikord’s request, wrote a letter to the commander at Kunashiri, detailing the state of affairs. No answer was returned, and when an attempt was made to land for water, the boats were fired upon, as was the “Diana” herself, whenever she approached the shore; but the aim was so bad as to excite the derision of the Russians.

During the winter passed in Kamtschatka, the Japanese merchant continued to gain in the good opinion of his captors, whose language he so far mastered as to be able to converse in it even on abstract subjects. He seemed to interest himself much in arranging the misunderstanding between the Russian and Japanese governments, and expressed his wish, which he said was shared by others of his class, to see a commercial intercourse opened between the two nations; and it was at his suggestion that Rikord sent to the governor of Irkutsk for a disavowal of the hostile acts of Chwostoff.

Kahei remained in good health and spirits till the middle of winter, when the death of two of his Japanese attendants greatly affected him. He became melancholy and peevish, asserted that he had the scurvy, and told the surgeon he should certainly die; but his real disorder was home-sickness, aggravated by apprehensions of being detained at Okhotsk, whither Rikord had intended to sail before proceeding to Japan, in order to get the disavowal above referred to. As Kahei’s assistance seemed essential, Rikord, fearing lest he might die, resolved to sail direct for Japan as soon as the vessel could be cut from the ice,—a resolution by which Kahei’s spirits were greatly raised.

They arrived in Kunashiri bay in June, 1813. The buildings were, as formerly, concealed by striped cotton cloth, but no guns were fired, and not a living being was to be seen. When the two Japanese sailors were about to be sent on shore, Rikord, somewhat excited at their master’s declining to pledge himself for their return, bade them say to the governor, that if he prevented them from returning, or sent back no information, their master should be carried to Okhotsk, whence some ships of war should immediately come to demand the liberation of the Russians.

“At these words,” says Rikord, “Kahei changed countenance, but said, with much calmness, ‘Commander of the imperial ship’—he always addressed me thus on important occasions—‘thou counsellest rashly. Thy orders to the governor of Kunashiri seem to contain much, but according to our laws they contain little. In vain dost thou threaten to carry me to Okhotsk; my men may be detained on shore, but neither two, nor yet two thousand sailors can answer for me. Therefore I give thee previous notice that it will not be in thy power to take me to Okhotsk. But tell me whether it be under these conditions only that my sailors are to be sent on shore?’ ‘Yes,’ said I; ‘as commander of a ship of war, I cannot under these circumstances act otherwise.’

The Doctor’s Call

Hair-Dressing

A Blind Masseur
Scenes in the Home

“‘Well,’ replied he, ‘allow me to give my sailors my last and most urgent instructions, as to what they must communicate from me to the governor of Kunashiri.’ He then rose up—for during this conversation he sat, according to the Japanese custom, with his legs under him—and addressed me very earnestly in the following terms: ‘You know enough of Japanese to understand all that I may say in plain and easy words to my sailors. I would not wish you to have any ground to suspect me of hatching base designs.’ He then sat down again, when his sailors approached him on their knees, and hanging down their heads, listened with deep attention to his words. He reminded them circumstantially of the day on which they were carried on board the ‘Diana,’ of the manner in which they had been treated on board that ship and in Kamtschatka, of their having inhabited the same house with me, and being carefully provided for, of the death of their two countrymen, notwithstanding all the attention bestowed upon them by the Russian physician, and, finally, that the ship had hastily returned to Japan on account of his own health. All this he directed them faithfully to relate, and concluded with the warmest commendations of me, and earnest expressions of gratitude for the care that I had taken of him by sea and on land. He then sank into a deep silence and prayed, after which he delivered to the sailor whom he most esteemed, his picture to be conveyed to his wife, and his large sabre, which he called his paternal sword, to be presented to his only son and heir. This solemn ceremony being finished, he stood up, and with a frank and indeed very cheerful expression of countenance, asked for some brandy to treat his sailors at parting. He drank with them, and accompanied them on deck, when they were landed, and proceeded without interruption towards the fortress.”

Rikord was a good deal troubled and alarmed at the air and manner of Kahei; and finally, after consulting with his officers concluded to dismiss him unconditionally, trusting to his honor for his doing his best to procure the release of the Russians.

Kahei was greatly delighted at this mark of confidence, though he declined to go on shore till the next day, as it would not conform to Japanese ideas of etiquette for him to land on the same day with his sailors. He confessed to Rikord that he had been greatly wounded by the threat to carry him to Okhotsk. It was not consistent with Japanese ideas, that a man of his position should remain a prisoner in a foreign country, and he had therefore made up his mind to prevent it by cutting himself open. He had accordingly cut off the tuft of hair from his head,—and he showed that it was gone,—and had laid it in the box with his picture; it being customary with those about to die honorably, by their own hands, in a distant place, to send this token to their friends, who bury the tuft of hair with all the ceremonies which they would have bestowed upon the body. And he even intimated that previous to doing this execution on himself, he might first have stabbed Rikord and the next in command.

Kahei exerted himself with the greatest energy in the matter of the negotiation, and he soon was able to produce a letter, in the hand-writing of Golownin, and signed by him and Moor, but which the jealousy of their keepers had limited to the simple announcement that they were alive and well at Matsumae. Afterwards one of the imprisoned Russian sailors was brought on board the ship, being sent from Matsumae for that purpose; but, though allowed to spend his days on board the “Diana,” he was required to return to the fort every night. In spite, however, of all the watchfulness of the Japanese, he had brought sewed up in his jacket a letter from Golownin, in which he recommended prudence, civility, candor, and especially patience, and entreated that no letters nor anything else should be sent him which might cause him to be tormented with questions and translations.

The Japanese would not deliver up their prisoners till the “Diana” first sailed to Okhotsk, and brought from the authorities there a formal written disavowal of the hostilities of Chwostoff. At Okhotsk was found the letter from the governor of Irkutsk, previously sent for at Kahei’s suggestion, and with this document and another letter from the commander at Okhotsk, the “Diana” reached Hakodate towards the end of October.

“As we approached the town,” says Rikord, “we observed that cloth was hung out only at a few places on the hill, or near it, and not over the whole buildings, as at Kunashiri. With the assistance of our telescopes, we observed six of these screens of cloth, probably intended to conceal fortifications. There were, beside, five new fortifications at short distances from each other, and from two to three hundred fathoms from the shore.

“We no sooner entered the roads than we were surrounded by a number of boats, of all descriptions and sizes, filled with the curious of both sexes. A European ship must indeed have been to them an object of uncommon interest; for, as far as I could ascertain, they had seen none since they were visited twenty-two years before by Laxman.[99] Many of the inhabitants, therefore, had never beheld a European vessel of any kind, and still less a ship of war; they accordingly thronged about us in vast numbers, and their curiosity frequently gave rise to disputes among themselves. The Dōshin (soldiers), who were stationed in the watch-boats, continually called to them to keep at a further distance; but so great was the confusion that, though the people generally showed great respect to the soldiers, their orders were on this occasion disregarded. The military, therefore, were under the necessity of using the iron batons which they wear fastened to their girdles by long silken strings. They spared neither rank nor sex; old persons alone experienced their indulgence, and we had various opportunities of observing that the Japanese, in all situations, pay particular respect to old age. In this case blows were freely dealt out to the young, of every description, who ventured to disobey the commands of the soldiers, and we were at length delivered from a multitude of visitors, who would have subjected us to no small degree of inconvenience.”

Kahei came on board the next morning, and the letter from the governor of Okhotsk was given to him to be transmitted to the governor of Matsumae; but Captain Rikord refused to deliver the other letter, except in person. After much negotiation the ceremonial for an interview was arranged. The Japanese even conceded that the ten men who landed with Rikord as his guard of honor should be allowed to take their muskets with them; he, on his part, agreeing to land in the Japanese governor’s barge, and, before entering the audience chamber, to substitute, instead of his boots, shoes, which Kahei undertook to pass off as leather stockings. Rikord had for his interpreter a Japanese whom he had brought from Okhotsk, sent thither from Irkutsk, and who bore the Russian name of Kesseleff. The Japanese had Teisuke, who had learnt Russian of Golownin. The governor of Matsumae, Hattori-Bingo-no-kami, was represented on this occasion by the governor of Hakodate, and by an academician sent for the express purpose of making observations on the Russian ship of war, and collecting particulars respecting European science,—no other, indeed, than Doeff’s friend, “Globius.”

The letter of the governor of Irkutsk was delivered, with great formality, in a box covered with purple cloth. Rikord took it out, read the address aloud, and returned it. Kesseleff, Rikord’s interpreter, then handed the box to Teisuke, who raised it above his head, and placed it in the hands of the junior commissioner, who delivered it to the senior commissioner, who promised to deliver it to the bugiō, or governor. An entertainment followed of tea and sweetmeats, during which a Japanese was placed beside Rikord to receive and hand to him his share of the eatables.

From the moment of the departure of the “Diana” for Okhotsk, Golownin and his companions had begun to be treated rather as guests than prisoners. They were soon conveyed back to Hakodate, and at length, after a confinement of more than two years, were delivered up to Rikord, with a paper of which the following are the material parts:

NOTIFICATION FROM THE GIMMIYAKU, THE CHIEF COMMANDERS NEXT TO THE BUGIŌ, OF MATSUMAE.

“Twenty-two years ago a Russian vessel arrived at Matsumae, and eleven years ago another came to Nagasaki. Though the laws of our country were on both those occasions minutely explained, yet we are of opinion that we have not been clearly understood on your part, owing to the great dissimilarity between our languages and writing. However, as we have now detained you, it will be easy to give you an explanation of these matters. When you return to Russia, communicate to the commanders of the coasts of Kamtschatka, Okhotsk, and others, the declaration of our bugiō, which will acquaint them with the nature of the Japanese laws with respect to the arrival of foreign ships, and prevent a repetition of similar transgressions on your part.

“In our country the Christian religion is strictly prohibited, and European vessels are not suffered to enter any Japanese harbor except Nagasaki. This law does not extend to Russian vessels only. This year it has not been enforced, because we wished to communicate with your countrymen; but all that may henceforth present themselves will be driven back by cannon-balls. Bear in mind this declaration, and you cannot complain if at any future period you should experience a misfortune in consequence of your disregard of it.

“Among us there exists this law: ‘If any European residing in Japan shall attempt to teach our people the Christian faith, he shall undergo a severe punishment, and shall not be restored to his native country.’ As you, however, have not attempted to do so, you will accordingly be permitted to return home. Think well on this.

“Our countrymen wish to carry on no commerce with foreign lands, for we know no want of necessary things. Though foreigners are permitted to trade to Nagasaki, even to that harbor only those are admitted with whom we have for a long period maintained relations, and we do not trade with them for the sake of gain, but for other important objects. From the repeated solicitations which you have hitherto made to us, you evidently imagine that the customs of our country resemble those of your own; but you are very wrong in thinking so. In future, it will be better to say no more about a commercial connection.”

In all this business the efforts of Kahei had been indefatigable. At first he was treated by his own countrymen with the suspicion and reserve extended to all, even native Japanese, who come from a foreign country. For a long time he was not permitted to visit Golownin. A guard was set over him, and even his friends and relations could not see him except in presence of an imperial soldier. In fact, according to the Japanese laws, as a person just returned from a foreign country, he ought to have been allowed no correspondence at all with his friends. The governor of Hakodate, having a letter for him from his only son, said not a word to him about it, but having sent for him to convey a letter from Golownin on board the “Diana,” while walking up and down the room, threw his son’s letter towards him, as if it had been a piece of waste paper taken out of his sleeve accidentally with the other letter, and then turned his back to give him time to pick it up.[100]

Kahei’s abduction had thrown his family into great distress. A celebrated priest, or spirit-medium, at Hakodate, to the question whether he ever would return, had answered, “Kahei will return the ensuing summer, with two of his companions; the remaining two have perished in a foreign land.” This answer was communicated to Golownin, who laughed at it; but when, on Kahei’s return, it appeared that two of his Japanese attendants had actually died, the Japanese believers were greatly edified, and highly indignant at Golownin’s persistence in maintaining that there was more of luck than foresight in the prophecy. Kahei’s wife—another probably than the young female with whom we are already acquainted—in her grief made a vow to go on a pilgrimage through the whole of Japan; and Kahei assured Captain Rikord that scarcely had she returned from her pilgrimage, when she received his letter from Kunashiri, announcing his return.

Kahei had a bosom friend, who, on learning his fate, divided his large property among the poor, and took up his residence in the mountains as a hermit. As appeared on various occasions, Kahei was a strict disciplinarian, and very punctilious. He had a daughter, whom, owing to some misconduct, he had discarded. She was dead to him, so he said; and to Rikord, to whom he had told the story, and who had taken an interest in the girl, he had insisted that a reconciliation would be inconsistent with his honor. Yet, to show his hermit friend that in the way of self-sacrifice he was not to be outdone, he made up his mind to the great effort of calling his daughter into life, and forgiving her. His friend would, he said, when this communication was made to him, at once understand it.

Scene in a Common School

During Kahei’s absence his mercantile affairs had prospered, and before Rikord’s departure he brought on board the “Diana,” with all the evidence of paternal pride, his son, who seemed, indeed, to be a promising youth. He was very liberal in his distribution of silk and cotton wadded dresses to the crew, to all of whom he gave one or more, to his favorites the best ones, taking especial care to remember the cook. He then begged to be allowed to treat them. “Sailors, captain,” so he said to Rikord, “are all alike, whether Russian or Japanese. They are all fond of a glass; and there is no danger in the harbor of Hakodate.” So the sailors had a night of it, being plentifully supplied with sake and Japanese tobacco.

Though he refused all presents of value, as being indeed prohibited by Japanese law, Kahei accepted with pleasure a Russian tea-set, as it would enable him, in entertaining his friends, to call to mind his Russian hosts; and he expressed much regret that the custom of his country did not allow him to invite Rikord to his own house. Finally, he brought a number of boats to help tow the “Diana” out of the harbor.

This is the only full-length portrait we possess of a Japanese merchant; and, if it represents the class, the fraternity have reason to be proud of their Japanese brethren. “The class of merchants in Japan,” says Golownin, “is very extensive and rich, but not held in honor. The merchants have not the right to bear arms;[101] but though their profession is not respected, their wealth is; for this, as in Europe, supplies the place of talents and dignity, and attains privileges and honorable places. The Japanese told us that their officers of state and men of rank behave themselves outwardly with great haughtiness to the merchants, but in private are very familiar with the rich ones, and are often under great obligations to them. We had with us for some time a young officer, who was the son of a rich merchant, and who, as the Japanese said, owed his rank not to his own merit, but to his father’s gold. Thus, though the laws do not favor the mercantile profession, yet wealth raises it; for even in Japan, where the laws are so rigorously enforced, they are often weighed down by the influence of gold.”