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Toyohashi City Historical Discourse (Matsudaira Nobuhisa's Succession) 414
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I believe it would not be useless to describe these matters, and furthermore, I consider it proper procedure to then gradually advance the narrative forward. Though there may be some repetition, I shall avoid this as much as possible and discuss the main points below.
As you are already aware, the Tokugawa clan in its early days did not practice an extreme isolationist policy, but after the Shimabara Rebellion occurred in Kyushu during the reign of the third shogun Iemitsu, while strictly prohibiting foreign religion on one hand, Japan increasingly inclined toward an isolationist policy. However, only the Netherlands continued to maintain relations with our country.
While our country was long indulging in dreams of peace, the world situation gradually transformed completely. The rising powers of England, France, Russia, America, and others increasingly surpassed countries like Spain, Portugal, and the Netherlands, gradually extending their influence eastward. Russia's invasion of the Amur River region after crossing the Siberian wilderness is said to have begun as early as the second year of Keian.
Thereafter, this eastward expansion and southward advance did not cease, gradually penetrating the Kuril Islands and Sakhalin regions. Even during the Genroku period, such intrusions were frequently observed, and they became particularly notable in the early Meiwa period. I have already discussed these matters in previous chapters, but when the Russian officer Laxman came to Ezo in Kansei 5, it first created a problem for the Tokugawa shogunate. At that time, they gave him a permit stating he should come to Nagasaki, somehow patching over the immediate situation, but Russian ships frequently reconnoitered our northern borders during this period. At that time, Russia was dealing with the turmoil of the French Revolution in Europe, and additionally problems like the partition of Poland had arisen, so they temporarily relaxed their eastern expansion efforts. However, four years after Emperor Alexander's accession, in our Kyōwa 3, they again dispatched envoy Rezanov to our country, who arrived in Nagasaki in September of the following year.
The circumstances of that time were as I described in detail during the era of Nobuaki, but Rezanov's party apparently investigated our northern defenses on their return journey and perceived their weakness. In their travel accounts, they expressed opinions about seizing Sakhalin, which would be translated into Japanese by our countrymen eight or nine years later...
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Toyohashi Mayor Ōguchi Kiroku has devoted his extensive knowledge and inexhaustible energy to compiling Toyohashi city history for over a year, and now as his manuscript nears completion...
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This Toyohashi City Historical Discourse is published once weekly (Tuesdays) and presented to readers of the Sanyō Newspaper
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...into Japanese. This was the so-called "Record of an Embassy to Japan," which I believe had a considerably negative influence on our country's diplomatic policy toward Russia. Thereafter, Russian ships' incursions into our northern borders never ceased, and at times public opinion reached a fever pitch, but fortunately these eventually ceased for reasons I have already described in the previous chapter on Nobuaki's era.
Now, following Russia, the next country to approach Japan was England. Originally, as you know, England had already established a trading post in Hirado, Hizen, in the distant past of the Genna era, but finding little profit at the time, they voluntarily withdrew after seven years. However, fifty years later, in May of our Enpō 1, the English East India Company sent a ship to Nagasaki, wanting to reopen trade with our country.
Indeed, England had been plagued by continuous internal conflicts for these several decades and likely had no leisure to extend its reach overseas, but by this time the well-known East India Company had gradually achieved success in India, and its power had grown remarkably. Consequently, they hoped to compete with Dutch commercial power and become the hegemon of East Asian trade, so they sent a ship called the "Return" to our country, wanting to resume trade with Japan.
However, needless to say, our country at that time had imposed even stricter limitations on foreign relations, restricting trade even with China and the Netherlands, the only two countries with which we had previously conducted commerce. Moreover, since our country relied solely on Dutch communications to learn of foreign affairs, and since the Netherlands and England were difficult commercial rivals for the reasons I mentioned earlier, the Dutch seemed to work to obstruct trade between the English and our country. They mentioned that the English king and Portuguese royal house were related by marriage, and since our country particularly disliked the Portuguese due to the foreign religion troubles, we ultimately adopted a policy of outright rejection of England as well.
Thereafter, English ships frequently appeared off our coasts, but what I particularly want to tell you about is how Napoleon's rise disrupted the European world at that time. As a result, in our Bunka 3, the Netherlands homeland was finally [conquered by] France...
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Toyohashi City Historical Discourse (Matsudaira Nobuhisa's Succession) 415