Daikokuya Kōdayū

In this Japanese name, the family name is "Daikokuya".

Daikokuya Kōdayū (大黒屋光太夫) and Isokichi (磯吉) when returned to Japan by Adam Laxman, 1792.

Japanese map drawn by Daikokuya Kōdayū in 1789 with place names in both Japanese and Russian.

Daikokuya Kōdayū (大黒屋 光太夫^?) (1751 - May 28, 1828) was a Japanese castaway who spent eleven years in Russia.^[1][2][3][4]

His ship landed at Amchitka, Aleutian Islands. They managed to escape to the Russian mainland and had Catherine the Great allow them to go back to Japan by Kirill Laxman's effort with Alexander Bezborodko and Alexander Vorontsov. Two made it back to Japan alive, one died when they stayed in Yezo(Hokkaidō), two stayed in Irkutsk as they became Christians, 11 died.

Early life

Daikokuya Kōdayū was born in Wakamatsu, Ise Province. (Suzuka, Mie, Japan) He was adopted by a merchant, Daikokuya in Shiroko, Ise.(also Suzuka, Mie)

Drift

As the captain of the ship, Shinsho-maru(神昌丸). Kōdayū set sail for Yedo in 1782. The ship was caught in a storm around Enshū.(Western Shizuoka) After drifting for seven months, one man died.

Amchitka

Just after the man died, they found and landed on the island, Amchitka where Russians and Aleut people lived. They witnessed Aleuts' revolt in 1784.(Amchitka#Aleuts' revolt)

Kamchatka

Russians and Kōdayū's people escaped from the island by building new ship of driftwood with their sails being made of otter fur. They sailed the ship for one and a half months. Russian officials in Kamchatka at first could not believe they had sailed from Amchitka to Kamchatka by a "hand-made boat". At Kamchatka, Kōdayū met Barthélemy de Lesseps, a French diplomat. Lesseps wrote about Japanese castaways and the leader Kōdayū in his book, Journal historique du voyage de M. de Lesseps published in 1790.

According to Lesseps, The crew had special feeling of attachment and respect with Kōdayū. He also showed his attachment as much as they did to him, and he always paid attention if they had any frustrating matters as possible as he could. Kōdayū did not hide what he thought and his Russian had strong accent and spoke very fast so sometimes Lesseps could not understand Kōdayū. He wore Japanese cloths which did not cover his throat even when it was freezingly cold despite other Russian people's recommendation that he should have covered his throat.

Okhotsk

A captain in Kamchatka, Hokkeich(ホッケイチ), led Kōdayū's people to Okhotsk. In the book 《Daikokuya Kōdayū》 (Iwanami Shoten, 2004), Japanese author Yamashita Tsuneo (山下恒夫) says Hokkeich(ホッケイチ) is ホトケーヴィチ, which sounds equivalent to a Russian name Khotkevich.

Yakutsk

Kodayu's people had temporarily stayed in Yakutsk.

Irkutsk

Kōdayū's people met Kirill Laxman as Captain Hokkeich introduced them to each other.

Tsarskoye Selo

Kōdayū's people had assistance by others, including Kirill Laxman, in Irkutsk. Kōdayū then left for Saint Petersburg in order to accompany Kirill to ask to be returned home in 1791. By the instrumental help of Kiril, Kodayu was granted an audience with Catherine the Great in Tsarskoye Selo and Kodayu's people were permitted return home in the same year.^[5]

References

1. ^ Yamashita, Tsuneo Daikokuya Kōdayū 2004. Iwanami, Japan ISBN 4004308798
2. ^ Masanori Tsuzuki, Mitarbeiterin Beatrice Segura Daikokuya Kōdayū: ein Schiffbrüchger, aber bedeutsamer Kapitän. 船頭 大黒屋光太夫:[センドウ ダイコクヤ コウダユウ:] 1995 Suzuka : Rechtsfähige Stiftung Verein für Internationale Freundschaft Suzuka BA25501779
3. ^ Yasushi Inoue, Rêves de Russie, translated by Brigitte Koyama-Richard, Paris, Phébus, 2005.
4. ^ Kamei Takayoshi, Daikokuya Kōdayū, Tokyo, Yoshikawa Kobunkan, Showa 39 [1964], Showa 45 [1970].
5. ^ Kisaki, Ryōhei, Kodaiyu to Lakusuman: Bakumatsu Nichi-Ro Kosho no Isshokumen (Kodaiyu and Laxman: An Aspect of Japanese-Russian Relations in the Late Edo Period), Tokyo, Tosui Shobo, 1992; Yasushi Inoué, Rêves de Russie, traduit du japonais par Brigitte Koyama-Richard, Paris, Phébus, 2005.

See also

• Kirill Laxman
• Amchitka
• Catherine the Great
• Alexander Bezborodko
• Alexander Vorontsov
• Alexander I of Russia
• Paul I of Russia
• Alexander Radishchev
• Grigory Shelikhov
• Barthélemy de Lesseps(uncle of Ferdinand) in Kamchatska
• Dembei
• History of Alaska#Russian Alaska: Aleutian islands and about Shelikhov.

Persondata
Name	Daikokuya, Kodayu
Alternative names
Short description	Japanese castaway who spent eleven years in Russia
Date of birth	1751
Place of birth	Wakamatsu, Ise Province, Mie, Japan
Date of death	May 28, 1828
Place of death