Daikokuya Kodayu大黒屋光太夫 光太夫alternative words: Kodayu Daikokuya, Daikokuya Koudayuu, Kodayu keywords: famous person , northern territory , russia related topics: Laxman , Ezochi , Sakoku related web sites: http://www.iijnet.or.jp/daikokuya/kyoudo/main.html , http://www.suzuka-ct.ac.jp/genl/fl/tsuzuki/koudayu/kou-sirizu/ko-siri-6-tsuzuki.htm , http://www.pcs.ne.jp/~sakura/kodayu.html explanation: Born in 1751 in Mie prefecture. During a course to bring rice to Tokyo as captain, his ship encountered a storm and wrecked to Aleut islands in 1782. After 4 year stay on an island, he reached finally Russian mainland and met Empress Catherine II. She decided to return him back to Japan, accompanied by Laxman. They arrived in 1792 at Nemuro. Due to Sakoku, he was asked not to tell his travel and spent the remaining life in an official district of Tokyo. He married there and died in 1828. | |