The closest European country to Japan
In the previous article (No. 8) , we mentioned the Japanese settlement that was formed in Vladivostok, a port city in Russia's Far East, from the Meiji period through to the early Showa period. Apart from this historical fact, in recent years Vladivostok has also been attracting attention from Japan as a tourist destination.
Upon further investigation, I found several websites introducing the attractions of Vladivostok. Among them, the YouTube channel " Vladivostok Channel " summarizes and conveys the attractions of Vladivostok. Masato Nakamura, author of "43 Reasons to Travel to Vladivostok" (Asahi Shimbun Publications, 2019), provides commentary.
It is two and a half hours away from Narita Airport and is the starting point of the Trans-Siberian Railway, making it "the closest European town to Japan." The following seven points are cited as reasons for its popularity.
- A port town facing the Sea of Japan
- European cityscape
- Gourmet town
- Summer fun at the beach
- Nature spreads out in the suburbs
- There are plenty of events throughout the year
- A city of ballet and art
When you think of a town in the Russian Far East across the Sea of Japan, you might imagine it to be extremely cold, but if you look at a map you can see that it is located at 43 degrees north, almost the same latitude as Otaru in Hokkaido.
Regarding the seventh point, "a city of ballet and art," Nakamura mentions that Vladivostok is home to famous ballet and opera theaters with Japanese dancers, and that Vladivostok has historical ties with Japanese ballet companies.
What this means is that Hattori Chieko, the first president of the Japan Ballet Association, had her roots in Vladivostok. She was born in Vladivostok in 1908 (Meiji 41) to a Japanese father who was a trader and a Russian mother, and studied ballet in St. Petersburg. However, the Hattori family lost their fortune during the Russian Revolution (1917), so she returned to Russia and was active in Japan thereafter.
She was born four years after the Russo-Japanese War, when relations between Japan and Russia had already been normalized and Japanese people were allowed to enter Vladivostok, which had been suspended during the war. Japanese schools were also reopened, and Japanese activities in Vladivostok became more active.
This is only speculation, but there may have been quite a few families like the Hattori family where Japanese and Russians got together and gave birth to second-generation children like Chieko's. Furthermore, while it is said that the Japanese withdrew completely from Vladivostok in 1937, there may have been second- and third-generation Japanese-Russians who remained there.
It almost feels like Vladivostok was a town for Japanese people at one time, where they had put down roots not only as a place for business but also as a place to live.
In its 77-year history
Let's retrace the footsteps of Japanese people in Vladivostok, using as reference the book "Vladivostok: A History of Japanese Residents 1860-1937" (by Zoya Morgun, translated by Fujimoto Kazuo, Tokyodo Publishing, 2016) introduced last time, as well as "Vladivostok's Japanese Town: What the Japanese-Russian People's Exchanges in the Meiji and Taisho Eras Tell Us" (by Horie Michi, planned and edited by the Institute of Eurasia and Booklet Editorial Committee, Toyo Shoten, 2005), and "The Story of Vladivostok: The City Where Russia and Asia Intersect" (by Hara Teruyuki, Sanseido Publishing, 1998).
In 1860, Russia acquired the left bank of the Amur River as its territory in the Treaty of Beijing with China, and began to develop the region, building the city of Vladivostok. Then, noticing the region's potential, merchants not only from Russia but also from other countries opened trading companies, and stores also opened in the area from Nagasaki and other parts of Japan. These stores sold foodstuffs such as salt, rice, and flour, as well as silk fabrics, furniture, and tableware.
Some people also started their own service businesses, such as barber shops and photo shops. Most of these Japanese residents were families, which led to an increase in the child population.
In 1894, a Japanese elementary school was established, and by 1902, 50 students were studying there. Several organizations, such as the Japanese Residents Association, were established by the Japanese who had taken root in the area. Business, which had come to a halt due to the Russo-Japanese War, soon returned to normal, the Japanese community became prosperous again, and relations with Russians and people from other countries also seemed to be going well.
Regarding life in Vladivostok at that time, the author of "The Japanese Town in Vladivostok" writes, "...Japanese people were able to live a life no different to that of Japanese people, and although there were towns such as Kitayskaya (China) Town and Karelskaya (Korean) Town, overall it seems likely that people lived a life of coexistence and prosperity without much regard for race or nationality..."
What led to the collapse of this settlement society was the Russian Revolution of 1917 and Japan's "Siberian Expedition" the following year, which was an attempt to gain interests in Siberia by interfering with the Russian Revolution. Japanese troops landed in Vladivostok and advanced, but ultimately failed, and finally withdrew in 1922.
As a result, the remaining Japanese community in Vladivostok suffered great damage, their activities were scaled back, and the Japanese gradually returned to Japan. At its peak, there were over 5,000 Japanese in Vladivostok, but by the end of the 1920s, the number had dropped to about 500. Furthermore, with the Manchurian Incident in 1931, Japan-Soviet relations rapidly deteriorated, and the Japanese elementary school in Vladivostok was closed.
According to Yoneko Toizumi, the wife of Kenryu Toizumi, who became the chief priest of Vladivostok Honganji Temple in 1931, in those days, contact with foreigners meant arrest for Russians. Contact with Japanese people was sometimes seen as espionage.
When the Anti-Comintern Pact was signed between Japan and Germany in 1936 to check international communism and the Soviet Union, the Japanese were forced to leave Vladivostok. "By June 10, 1937, only a few Japanese remained in Vladivostok," "there were seven women in total," and "all Japanese except for the consulate general staff left Vladivostok," according to Zoya Morgun's book.
Among these last Japanese, the book also mentions two women who became wives of Soviet citizens. One was Yatake Yasu, the aunt of Toizumi Yoneko, and the other was a woman named Morie Yuki. It is known that Yatake left the country, but the book states that "Morie's fate is unknown."
It is not known whether the couple had any children, but the question remains as to whether there were any others who similarly became the wives or husbands of Soviet citizens, and whether there were any who remained in the local area after the incident without it being known that they were Japanese.
The Japanese population in Vladivostok only existed for approximately 77 years, from around 1860 to 1937, but I can't help but feel that somewhere there may be people of Japanese descent of the next generation or even generations after that.
© 2022 Ryusuke Kawai
