“Who was Mamiya Rinzo?” someone asks. The \u53f2\u8e5f\u6307\u5b9a \u3000\u9593\u5bae\u6797\u8535\u4e4b\u5893 Obelisk before us stands as a tribute to him. It marks the final resting place of a remarkable explorer.
Mamiya Rinzo was a Japanese explorer of the late Edo period. He was born in 1775 and died on April 13, 1844. Mamiya is most famous for exploring Karafuto, now known as Sakhalin. He mapped areas of northeast Asia. These areas were previously unknown to the Japanese.
Mamiya was born in Tsukuba District. This is now Tsukubamirai, Ibaraki Prefecture. Later, he became an undercover agent. He worked for the Tokugawa shogunate. His exploration of Sakhalin is significant. He proved Sakhalin was an island. It was not connected to the Asian continent. Jean-Francois de La Perouse had already discovered this in 1787. He charted most of the Strait of Tartary.
Japan later named the strait after Mamiya. It is known as the Mamiya Strait in Japan. In 1808, Mamiya sailed up the east coast of Sakhalin. Matsuda Denjuro explored the west coast. Mamiya crossed the mountains to meet Matsuda. The next year, Mamiya sailed into the Amur River’s mouth. He reached a Chinese trading post.
In 1828, he worked for Sadayuki Muragaki. He investigated smuggling in the Sekishu Hamada clan. He reported it to Sadakazu Yabe. He was involved in the Takeshima Incident. The Siebold Incident also occurred that year.
Philipp Franz von Siebold published Mamiya’s maps in Europe in 1852. It was announced in 2002 that he had a daughter. Her mother was an Ainu woman. Their descendants lived in Hokkaido. This was despite Japan’s earlier belief that Mamiya had no children.
Here at the \u53f2\u8e5f\u6307\u5b9a \u3000\u9593\u5bae\u6797\u8535\u4e4b\u5893 Obelisk, we honor Mamiya Rinzo. He was a great explorer. He helped expand Japan’s knowledge of the world. His discoveries are still remembered today. He holds the unique distinction among Japanese explorers of having his name featured on the Japanese world map in the form of the “Mamiya Strait”. Remember his courage and determination.