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Japanese first began to venture into the Kurils in the 1760s, with the first Japanese merchant ship to travel to Kunashiri, the southernmost of the islands, doing so in [[1763]]. Though Russian ships had previously (in [[1739]]) followed the line of islands all the way down to eastern [[Honshu|Honshû]], Russian merchants began to enter the Kurils in earnest around the same time as the Japanese, in [[1765]], reaching Etorofu (Iturup), the island just north of Kunashiri, in [[1766]]. They did so in search of fur trading, and [[tribute|tributary]] relationships with the [[Ainu|indigenous peoples]], having already done so in many parts of continental Siberia, obtaining furs and other goods which could be sold overseas in China and Europe. Russians had also heard that the Japan trade could be lucrative for obtaining [[gold]] and [[silver]].<ref>Robert Hellyer, ''Defining Engagement'', Harvard University Press (2009), 97-98.</ref>

Japanese first began to venture into the Kurils in the 1760s, with the first Japanese merchant ship to travel to Kunashiri, the southernmost of the islands, doing so in [[1763]]. Though Russian ships had previously (in [[1739]]) followed the line of islands all the way down to eastern [[Honshu|Honshû]], Russian merchants began to enter the Kurils in earnest around the same time as the Japanese, in [[1765]], reaching Etorofu (Iturup), the island just north of Kunashiri, in [[1766]]. They did so in search of fur trading, and [[tribute|tributary]] relationships with the [[Ainu|indigenous peoples]], having already done so in many parts of continental Siberia, obtaining furs and other goods which could be sold overseas in China and Europe. Russians had also heard that the Japan trade could be lucrative for obtaining [[gold]] and [[silver]].<ref>Robert Hellyer, ''Defining Engagement'', Harvard University Press (2009), 97-98.</ref>

Russian encroachment into the region intensified in the 1790s-1800s, and some shogunate officials and other Japanese thinkers and writers such as [[Honda Rimei]]<ref>Plutschow, Herbert. ''A Reader in Edo Period Travel''. Kent: Global Oriental, 2006. p21.</ref> suggested that the shogunate ought to seize Ezo, the Kuril Islands, and Sakhalin, in order to fend off the Russians and claim the Ainu (and the economic benefits they represented) more securely for Japan. Thus, in [[1799]] and again in [[1807]], the shogunate laid claim to lands in these areas, returning them to the responsibility of the Matsumae clan only in [[1821]], after fears of Russian encroachment subsided. A brief skirmish between Russian forces and shogunate, [[Tsugaru clan]], and [[Nanbu clan]] samurai on one of the islands in 1807 ended in the Japanese being routed.

Russian encroachment into the region intensified in the 1790s-1800s, and some shogunate officials and other Japanese thinkers and writers such as [[Honda Rimei]]<ref>Plutschow, Herbert. ''A Reader in Edo Period Travel''. Kent: Global Oriental, 2006. p21.</ref> suggested that the shogunate ought to seize Ezo, the Kuril Islands, and Sakhalin, in order to fend off the Russians and claim the Ainu (and the economic benefits they represented) more securely for Japan. Thus, in [[1799]], eastern Hokkaidô was absorbed into [[tenryo|shogunal lands]] as a temporary measure, made ostensibly permanent in [[1802]]. The shogunate declared the border between Japanese and Russian lands to lie in the straits between Etorofu and Urup, stationing shogunal forces on Etorofu, and assigning the [[Tsugaru clan|Tsugaru]] and [[Nanbu clan]]s to send troops to defend the islands in case of emergency. The shogunate also expanded efforts to secure mutually beneficial arrangements with the Ainu, in order to persuade them away from the Russian sphere of influence. To that end, in [[1807]], shogunate control was extended over all of Ezo, and the Matsumae clan were moved to Honshû.<ref>Mitani Hiroshi, David Noble (trans.), ''Escape from Impasse'', International House of Japan (2006), 13.</ref> That same year, a skirmish between Russian forces and those of the shogunate, Tsugaru, and Nanbu clans ended in the latter being routed.

 

The Matsumae were later returned to their lands on Ezo and to their role in overseeing matters in the north in [[1821]], after fears of Russian encroachment subsided.

Japan made its first formal border treaties with Russia in [[1855]], the [[Treaty of Shimoda]] granting the Kurils to Russia, but leaving the status of Sakhalin unclear. This represented the first treaty between Japan and any foreign power officially establishing "national" borders in the modern sense. The shogunate also at that time extended direct shogunate control over all of Ezo, in hopes of more effectively guarding against Russian incursions.

Japan made its first formal border treaties with Russia in [[1855]], the [[Treaty of Shimoda]] granting the Kurils to Russia, but leaving the status of Sakhalin unclear. This represented the first treaty between Japan and any foreign power officially establishing "national" borders in the modern sense. The shogunate also at that time extended direct shogunate control over all of Ezo, in hopes of more effectively guarding against Russian incursions.