“Records of Things Heard on Vladivostok”: A forgotten source on the history of Vladivostok in the late 19th century

This article examines and analyzes the report of the Tokyo Geographical Society correspondent Kambe Ōichi, entitled “Records of Things Heard on Vladivostok” (Kaisan’i kibun 海參威記聞 = 海參崴 紀聞). It was published in 1882–1883. For the first time, detailed historiographical and bibliographic information about it is provided, the history of its publication is traced, and its contents are revealed. The report consists of three parts – records for the period from May 1881 to April 1882, an appendix to them in the form of an “annual report” of the Vladivostok city government for 1882, and a continuation of records covering the period from April 1882 to May 1883. The report was written at a time when representative offices of Japanese companies were just beginning to open in Vladivostok, which naturally led to the expansion of the Japanese presence and diaspora in the region, and therefore it provides invaluable historical information about this early stage of the penetration of Japanese business into the Russian Far East. Despite its importance, this source is now largely forgotten. This publication is an attempt to point out its importance and reintroduce it into scientific circulation. We believe that this will make a significant contribution to research on the history of Vladivostok and Primorsky Krai in all its aspects and will help to supplement the information available in Russian-language sources. This article is only the first step in studying Kambe’s report. Much work remains to be done to decipher the names found there, as well as to identify the primary sources – the Russian and English documents that Kambe had at his disposal and that formed the basis of his translations.