Romanov Russia, Tokugawa Japan, and Overlapping Interests in the Sea of Okhotsk Area from the Seventeenth Century to the Early Nineteenth Century

This chapter establishes some of the historical context for this book by introducing the main historical actors and how they began to become involved in the Sea of Okhotsk Region. Russia and Tokugawa Japan became increasingly drawn into the Sea of Okhotsk region during this period. An important turning point for Russia was Peter I’s declared interests in Russian eastward expansion and exploration. This chapter also includes discussion about the roles of the Russian-American Company (RAC), as well as individual explorers to the area, including Vitus Bering, Stepan Krasheninnikov, Martin Spanberg, and other important explorers. From the Japanese perspective, this chapter will examine the early role of the Matsumae clan and its earliest involvements in the Sea of Okhotsk area, including the establishment of trade and early maritime outposts and the negotiation of political power with the Ainu. This chapter also introduces how the Ainu became more integrated into networks of trade and cross-cultural contact with both the Russians and the Japanese.