The Description of the Ainu and the Japanese by Gavriil Davydov (1807)

O. Klimova

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The Description of the Ainu and the Japanese by Gavriil Davydov (1807)

Russian Japanology Review. 2021. Vol. 4. No. 1. P. 95–116.

In 1802 upon the orders of the Russian-American Company ensign Davidov and lieutenant Khvostov were sent to deliver the food supplies to the Russian colonies in America. In 1804 the Company repeatedly ordered these two officers to make the voyage to America. Before their departure they met Rezanov, who arrived to Kamchatka after his unsuccessful mission to Japan, where he was supposed to establish the trade relations. Due to this failure and the attempt to save Russian colonies and expand the territory of the Russian Empire Rezanov decided to start trading with the local inhabitants of the Kuril Islands and Sakhalin. This study will examine the information about the Japanese, their settlements at Kuril Islands and local inhabitants of the Kuril Islands – Ainu. This research is based on the unique historical document “The Journal of the Voyage of an American Company Tender “Avos” in 1807, under the Command of Ensign Davidov” [Otdel Rukopisei RNB. Q.IV.430. Inv.6017. № 29]. This Journal gives a detailed description of the Japanese, the Ainu, their settlements and compares them to the Russian ones.

Research target: History and Archeology

Language: English

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Keywords: Khvostov Sakhalin expedition Russo-Japanese relations Ainu Davidov

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