A Nagasaki-e print depicting a Russian officer, probably Admiral Yevfimiy Vasilyevich Putyatin (1803-1883), with a standard bearer
Circa 1853, published in Nagasaki by Bunkindô
Colour woodblock print, H. 43 x W. 15.3 cm
On hearing of American plans to send Commodore Perry to Japan to open the country to foreign trade, the Russian government in 1852 sent Admiral Putyatin to Japan with the same objective. Putyatin arrived in Nagasaki in August 1853, one month after Perry. As negotiations were protracted by Japanese indecision, Putyatin departed from Nagasaki to survey the coasts of Korea and the Russian far east. On returning to Nagasaki, he found no progress in the negotiations and that the British Royal Navy sought to destroy his vessels because of the Crimean War. Putyatin sailed to Shimoda in the Bay of Edo, arriving in November 1854, after the Americans had already opened Japan by the Convention of Kanagawa. In February 1855, he concluded the Treaty of Shimoda, opening three ports to the Russians. In the meantime, a giant tsunami destroyed the Russian ships after the Ansei Tokai earthquake. Russian sailors and technicians worked with Japanese carpenters to build new vessels, teaching the Japanese much about European shipbuilding.
Colour woodblock print, H. 43 x W. 15.3 cm
On hearing of American plans to send Commodore Perry to Japan to open the country to foreign trade, the Russian government in 1852 sent Admiral Putyatin to Japan with the same objective. Putyatin arrived in Nagasaki in August 1853, one month after Perry. As negotiations were protracted by Japanese indecision, Putyatin departed from Nagasaki to survey the coasts of Korea and the Russian far east. On returning to Nagasaki, he found no progress in the negotiations and that the British Royal Navy sought to destroy his vessels because of the Crimean War. Putyatin sailed to Shimoda in the Bay of Edo, arriving in November 1854, after the Americans had already opened Japan by the Convention of Kanagawa. In February 1855, he concluded the Treaty of Shimoda, opening three ports to the Russians. In the meantime, a giant tsunami destroyed the Russian ships after the Ansei Tokai earthquake. Russian sailors and technicians worked with Japanese carpenters to build new vessels, teaching the Japanese much about European shipbuilding.
Part of the Japan collection.
