Returning to Nagasaki , Putyatin found that no progress had been made , and that the Royal Navy had called on Nagasaki during his absence as part of a manhunt to destroy his vessel . He therefore decided to make good on his threat to sail for Edo itself . Putyatin arrived at the port of Shimoda on November 22 , 1854 , which had been opened to the Americans by the Convention of Kanagawa signed between the Japanese and the United States , and was permitted to start negotiations on December 22 ; however on December 23 , the major Ansei Tokai earthquake shook Japan and surroundings . A 7-meter-high tsunami destroyed much of Shimoda including Putiatin 's ships , with exception of '' Diana '' , which was badly damaged and sank soon afterwards at nearby Heda . The Russian delegation now found itself stranded in Japan
Ansei Tokai earthquake
1854 Tōkai earthquake
Yevfimiy Putyatin