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От «красных людей» к «соседнему государству»: Мацудайра Саданобу и Россия
Matsudaira Sadanobu (1758-1829) was an actual head of Japanese government in 1787-1793 when relations with Russia had become one of the key questions for Japanese authorities. His success in the negotiations with Russian envoy Adam Laxman made him one of the most influential experts in external affairs even after his resignation. Through his autographic documents and diaries we managed to trace his attidude towards Russia and the idea of trade relations with it under the influence of several events: the Ainu uprising at Kunashir and northeastern Hokkaido in 1789, the visits of Adam Laxman and Nikolai Rezanov embassies in 1792-1793 and 1804-1805, and the assaults on Japanese settlements at Sakhalin and Iturup by Russian sailors in 1806-1807. By examining some common trends in Japan’s foreign policy in the first years of Sadanobu’s rule such as the reduction of trade with Dutch and Chinese merchants and the revision of Korean embassies to Japan, we have seen that Sadanobu’s early negative attitude towards Russia fits together with it. However, the negotiations with Russian envoy Adam Laxman pushed Sadanobu to reconsider the significance of relations with Russia and to pay more attention to the safety of northern boundaries of Japan. Sadanobu’s resignation in 1793 didn’t mean he was sidelined from the state affairs. His opinion was still taken into consideration by the central government as it was after the assaults on Japanese settlements at Sakhalin and Iturup by Russian sailors in 1806-1807. It appears that the capture of Russian captain Vasilii Golovnin in 1811 by Japanese officials were based on Sadanobu’s earlier offer to show off Japan’s martial prowess. Sadanobu’s recognition of Russia as a “neighboring country” signed the change in Japan’s awakening about the reshaped world order in the North Pacific.
