Changes

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]], 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.

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. That same year, following the death of [[Nikolai Rezanov]], his subordinates Khvostov and Davydov, in accordance with his plans, attacked Japanese outposts on Karafuto and Etorofu, and Japanese ships at Rishiri, took hostages, and demanded from the shogunate a firm answer as to whether it would allow Russian trade. After the Russians routed shogunal, Tsugaru, and Nanbu clan forces on Etorofu, the shogunate took a harder stance, ordering Ezo coastal defenses to be strengthened, and Russian ships to be repelled by force.<ref>Mitani Hiroshi, David Noble (trans.), ''Escape from Impasse'', International House of Japan (2006), 13-15.</ref>

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.

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.