GOLOWNIN, Vasily.

Inquire · Offered by Peter Harrington

Memoirs of a Captivity in Japan, During the Years 1811, 1812, and 1813; First collected edition in English, scarce in the original binding, of this account by a Russian naval officer of two years spent imprisoned on Hokkaido. His experiences and writings did much to shape European perceptions of Japan before Commodore Perry.A talented officer who had served under Nelson, Vasiliy Mikhailovich Golovnin (1776-1831) served as the "model for the cosmopolitan, professionally trained naval officer for future generations" (Wortman, p. 113). In 1808, he was given command of the sloop Diana for the second official Russian circumnavigation, tasked with exploring and surveying the Russian Far East, Kamchatka, and Alaska. Three years later, while attempting to chart the strait between Iturup (Etorofu) and Hokkaido, he was captured and imprisoned. A peaceful solution became possible only because of the friendly relationship between Peter Rikord, Golovnin's second-in-command who organized and led three rescue missions, and the prominent Japanese businessman and public figure Takadaya Kahei (1769-1827). Takadaya was captured by Rikord with his ship, the Kanze-maru, and stayed in Russia for several months. Upon returning home, he convinced the court that Golovnin and his fellow captives should be released.The first two volumes contain Golovnin's narrative and Rikord's account of his rescue efforts, first published together in English in 1818; the third adds Golovnin's Recollections of Japan,

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