Japanese-Dutch Relations in the Edo period (1603–1867)

Abstract

The article focuses on the Japanese-Dutch relations in the Edo Period (1603–1867), when Japan held a seclusion policy and only the port of Nagasaki was open to the Dutch and Chinese ships, the number of which gradually declined because of limited amount of export. The article deals with the background of Dutch trade expansion to the Pacific Ocean and their rivalry with Portuguese and Spanish merchants in the Far East, including Japan. The major concern of the article is history of the Hirado and Dejima Trade Factories, which became the only way for Europe to know about Japan, despite heavy conditions of their inhabitants deprivedof free contacts with the Japanese people. The author reveals the structure of those Factories, mentions the most important occupations and events, which are depicted in various English and Japanese works on Nagasaki trade. Some of them represent the view of the Dutch upon Japan and can be regarded as first notes about Japan in Europe. Besides, the most significant Dutch works on Japan, its history, flora and fauna, compiled by prominent scholars, are analyzed. Thus, the research upon the Japanese-Dutch relations contributes much to understanding of the Edo Period, its political, social and cultural aspects.

Keywords:

isolation, Hirado, Dejima, Tokugawa Ieyasu, William Adams