ABSTRACT
Gerhard Friedrich Muller was born in the Westphalian town of Herford, where his father was rector of the local gymnasium. In 1764, Muller moved to Moscow where he played a leading role in Catherine the Great’s educational reforms, and served as the director of the archives of the College of Foreign Affairs. The Japanese are mostly of a small stature, and of a swarthy complexion, with black eyes, and flat noses. The men, and great boys, shave their hair from the forehead to the crown, the rest of the hair is combed smooth, and made to shine with glue; it is tied in the neck behind, and wrapped up in a paper. In the succeeding 1739 expedition Walton’s ship became separated from the others, but he continued his voyage and succeeded in reaching the mainland of Japan, where he made contact with the local Japanese, and several of his crew visited the shore.
