Dezső Bozóky (b. 1871, d. 1957) was a physician of the Imperial and Royal Navy. He was born in Nagyvárad where his father, lawyer Alajos Bozóky, was director of the Academy of Law. Dezső Bozóky graduated as a physician in 1894 in Budapest. In 1907-1908 he served as a physician on the cruisers 'Szigetvár' and 'Ferenc József' on Chinese, Korean and Japanese seas. In 1912 he became the chief physician of the Rimamurányi-Salgótarjáni Steel-works; later he settled in Nagyvárad as a private practitioner. In the 1920s he moved to Budapest, where he lived until his death.
In 1911 he published an account of his experiences (along with some 50 photos taken by himself) of the 26 months he spent on the seas of East Asia in a travelogue entitled 'Two Years in the Far East'. As he wrote in the introduction, 'In the course of the travels I kept a diary. I recorded my experiences and impressions of greater interest every day straight away. And when my lovely journey was over and I stepped on my native land again, I – thanks to my parents' kind consideration – received the letters I had sent home. It was my second and probably even more interesting diary, in a bundle of considerable size.'
The ship he served on followed the familiar route of round-the-world trips, reaching China via Pula (Pola) – the Suez Canal, Port Said – Adan (Aden) – Ceylon (Colombo) – Singapore – Hongkong. While serving on warships on the seas of the Far East, Bozóky occasionally turned up in ports. He spent longer periods, often months, in one place; consequently, he had the opportunity to take a closer look at the inhabitants' life and to visit inland villages. In his travelogue he mentioned the following Chinese settlements: Hongkong, Macao, Canton, Xiamen (Amoy), Fuzhou, Shanghai, Shuzhou and Nanying, as well as the ports of the Shandong Peninsula (Quingdao, Weihai, Yinan, Beijing, Tienyin, Shanhaiguan, Dalian [Port Arthur]).
He spent a short time in 'the Realm of the Morning Blush', that is, Korea, a country rich in natural resources, where he visited Nampho (Chemulpo), Seoul, Pusan (Fuzan) and Mokpho (Port Hamilton), and he was able to see Vladivostok, the largest port of East Siberia. However, it was Japan – 'the Paradise of the East' as he used to call it – that fascinated him most. He visited large ports, such as Nagasaki, Kobe, Yokohama and Osaka, and travelled extensively all over the island. He saw almost all the scenic spots of contemporary Japan. He returned from his official journey from Hongkong to the Adriatic port of Pula via Saigon, Singapur, Ceylon (Colombo), Adan (Aden) and the Suez Canal. He cherished his love for Japan throughout his life.
In 1957 he bequeathed the objects he had purchased on his Far Eastern journey to the Ferenc Hopp Museum of Eastern Asiatic Arts.
The photos taken by him are preserved in the Documentation Department of the Museum. Our virtual exhibition displays a collection of the pictures he took in China.

Györgyi Fajcsák
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