Mamiya Rinzō
Encyclopedia
was a Japanese
explorer
of the late Edo period
.
Mamiya was born in 1775 in Tsukuba District
, Hitachi Province
, in what is now Tsukubamirai
, Ibaraki Prefecture
. Later in his life he would become an undercover agent for the Tokugawa shogunate
. He is best known for his exploration and mapping of Sakhalin
(known to the Japanese as 樺太, Karafuto), which resulted in his discovery that Sakhalin was indeed an island and not connected to the Asian continent
.
In 1785 Japanese explorers reached almost to the Strait of Tartary
on the west, Cape Patience
on the east and Urup
in the Kurils. In 1808 Mamiya sailed up the east coast and Matsuda Denjuro up the west coast. From near Cape Patience Mamiya crossed the mountains to join Matsuda. The next year Mamiya sailed into the mouth of the Amur River and reached a Chinese trading post. In 1852 Mamiya's maps were published in Europe by Philipp Franz von Siebold
.
Although Japan believed that Mamiya had no child, it was announced in 2002 that there was a daughter of him and an Ainu
woman and her descendants remained alive in Hokkaido
.
Japanese people
The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...
explorer
Exploration
Exploration is the act of searching or traveling around a terrain for the purpose of discovery of resources or information. Exploration occurs in all non-sessile animal species, including humans...
of the late Edo period
Edo period
The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....
.
Mamiya was born in 1775 in Tsukuba District
Tsukuba District, Ibaraki
Tsukuba was a district located in Ibaraki, Japan. At its greatest extent it included the areas of today's cities of Jōsō, Shimotsuma, Toride, Tsuchiura, Tsukuba, and Tsukuba Mirai.The district had two towns before the dissolution.* Ina* Yawara...
, Hitachi Province
Hitachi Province
was an old province of Japan in the area of Ibaraki Prefecture. It was sometimes called . Hitachi Province bordered on Iwashiro, Iwaki, Shimousa, and Shimotsuke Provinces....
, in what is now Tsukubamirai
Tsukubamirai, Ibaraki
is a city located in Ibaraki, Japan. The city was formed on March 27, 2006 from the merger of the town of Ina, and the village of Yawara, both from Tsukuba District....
, Ibaraki Prefecture
Ibaraki Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan, located in the Kantō region on the main island of Honshu. The capital is Mito.-History:Ibaraki Prefecture was previously known as Hitachi Province...
. Later in his life he would become an undercover agent for the Tokugawa shogunate
Tokugawa shogunate
The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the and the , was a feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family. This period is known as the Edo period and gets its name from the capital city, Edo, which is now called Tokyo, after the name was...
. He is best known for his exploration and mapping of Sakhalin
Sakhalin
Sakhalin or Saghalien, is a large island in the North Pacific, lying between 45°50' and 54°24' N.It is part of Russia, and is Russia's largest island, and is administered as part of Sakhalin Oblast...
(known to the Japanese as 樺太, Karafuto), which resulted in his discovery that Sakhalin was indeed an island and not connected to the Asian continent
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
.
In 1785 Japanese explorers reached almost to the Strait of Tartary
Strait of Tartary
Strait of Tartary is a strait in the Pacific Ocean dividing the Russian island of Sakhalin from mainland Asia , connecting the Sea of Okhotsk on the north with...
on the west, Cape Patience
Gulf of Patience
Gulf of Patience is a large body of water off the southeastern coast of Sakhalin, Russia, between the main body of Sakhalin Island in the west and Cape Patience in the east...
on the east and Urup
Urup
Urup is an uninhabited volcanic island near in the south of the Kuril Islands chain in the Sea of Okhotsk in the northwest Pacific Ocean. Its name is derived from the Ainu language word for salmon trout.-Geography and climate:...
in the Kurils. In 1808 Mamiya sailed up the east coast and Matsuda Denjuro up the west coast. From near Cape Patience Mamiya crossed the mountains to join Matsuda. The next year Mamiya sailed into the mouth of the Amur River and reached a Chinese trading post. In 1852 Mamiya's maps were published in Europe by Philipp Franz von Siebold
Philipp Franz von Siebold
Philipp Franz Balthasar von Siebold was a German physician and traveller. He was the first European to teach Western medicine in Japan...
.
Although Japan believed that Mamiya had no child, it was announced in 2002 that there was a daughter of him and an Ainu
Ainu people
The , also called Aynu, Aino , and in historical texts Ezo , are indigenous people or groups in Japan and Russia. Historically they spoke the Ainu language and related varieties and lived in Hokkaidō, the Kuril Islands, and much of Sakhalin...
woman and her descendants remained alive in Hokkaido
Hokkaido
, formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan's second largest island; it is also the largest and northernmost of Japan's 47 prefectural-level subdivisions. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaido from Honshu, although the two islands are connected by the underwater railway Seikan Tunnel...
.
See also
- 12127 Mamiya12127 Mamiya12127 Mamiya is a main-belt asteroid discovered on September 9, 1999 by K. Watanabe at Sapporo and was named after an explorer of Sakhalin, Mamiya Rinzō.- External links :*...
- Nikolai RezanovNikolai RezanovNikolay Petrovich Rezanov was a Russian nobleman and statesman who promoted the project of Russian colonization of Alaska and California. One of the ten barons of Russia, he was the first Russian ambassador to Japan , and participated in the first Russian circumnavigation of the globe ,...
- Philipp Franz von SieboldPhilipp Franz von SieboldPhilipp Franz Balthasar von Siebold was a German physician and traveller. He was the first European to teach Western medicine in Japan...
- SakhalinSakhalinSakhalin or Saghalien, is a large island in the North Pacific, lying between 45°50' and 54°24' N.It is part of Russia, and is Russia's largest island, and is administered as part of Sakhalin Oblast...
- Strait of TartaryStrait of TartaryStrait of Tartary is a strait in the Pacific Ocean dividing the Russian island of Sakhalin from mainland Asia , connecting the Sea of Okhotsk on the north with...