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Native name: 出島 | |
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 An imagined bird's-eye view of Dejima's layout and structures (copied from a woodblock print by Toshimaya Bunjiemon of 1780 and published inIsaac Titsingh'sBijzonderheden over Japan (1824/25) | |
| Geography | |
| Location | Nagasaki |
| Administration | |
Dejima (Japanese:出島;lit. 'exit island') orDeshima,[a] in the 17th century also calledTsukishima (築島;lit. 'built island'), was anartificial island offNagasaki, Japan, that served as atrading post for thePortuguese (1570–1639) and subsequently theDutch (1641–1858).[1] For 220 years, it was the central conduit for foreign trade and cultural exchange with Japan during the isolationistEdo period (1600–1869), and the only Japanese territory open to Westerners.[2]
Dejima was created in 1636 by digging acanal through a smallpeninsula and linking it to the mainland with a small bridge. The island was constructed by theTokugawa shogunate, whoseisolationist policies sought to preserve the existing sociopolitical order by forbidding outsiders from entering Japan while prohibiting most Japanese from leaving. Dejima housed European merchants and separated them from Japanese society while still facilitating lucrative trade with the West.
Following arebellion by mostly Catholic converts, the Portuguese were expelled in 1639. The Dutch were moved to Dejima in 1641, under stricter control and scrutiny, and segregated from Japanese society.
For 200 years, the Dutch were not allowed to set foot in Japan. Instead they were confined and segregated to an artificial island of Dejima, under poor and bad conditions. They were often discriminated as criminals and seen as hostages of the Shogun. It felt like prison and trade was observed under high scrutiny. Only 19 people were allowed in Dejima and no women were allowed. No Japanese were allowed unsupervised contact with the Dutch.
"They (the Japanese) are strictly and strongly guarded, from the inside and outside by various guards, treating us (the Dutch) not like honest men, but like criminals, traitors, spies, prisoners, or, to say the least, hostages of the Shogun. This jail goes by the name of Dejima."[3]—Engelbert Kaempfer, on visiting Japan
The open practice ofChristianity was banned, and interactions between Dutch and Japanese traders were tightly regulated, with only a small number of foreign merchants being allowed to disembark in Dejima. Until the mid-19th century, the Dutch were the only Westerners with access to the Japanese markets. Dejima consequently played a key role in the Japanese movement ofrangaku (蘭學, Dutch learning), an organized scholarly effort to learn theDutch language in order to understand Western science, medicine, and technology.[4]
After the 1854Treaty of Kanagawa set a precedent for more fully opening Japan to foreign trade and diplomatic relations, the Dutch negotiatedtheir own treaty in 1858, which ended Dejima's status as exclusive trading post, greatly reducing its importance. The island was eventually subsumed into Nagasaki city throughland reclamation. In 1922, the "Dejima Dutch Trading Post" was designated aJapanese national historic site, and there are ongoing efforts in the 21st century to restore Dejima as an island.
In 1543, the history of direct contact between Japan and Europe began with the arrival of storm-blownPortuguese merchants onTanegashima. Six years later the Jesuit missionaryFrancis Xavier landed inKagoshima. At first Portuguese traders were based inHirado, but they moved in search of a better port. In 1570daimyōŌmura Sumitada converted to Catholicism (choosing Bartolomeu as his Christian name) and made a deal with the Portuguese to develop Nagasaki; soon the port was open for trade.[citation needed]
In 1580 Sumitada gave the jurisdiction of Nagasaki to the Jesuits, and the Portuguese obtained thede factomonopoly on the silk trade with China throughMacau. TheshōgunIemitsu ordered the construction of the artificial island in 1634, to accommodate the Portuguese traders living in Nagasaki and prevent the propagation of their religion. This was one of the many edicts put forth by Iemitsu between 1633 and 1639 moderating contact between Japan and other countries. However, in response to theuprising of the predominantly Christian population in theShimabara-Amakusa region, theTokugawa government decided to expel the Portuguese in 1639.[5]
Since 1609, theDutch East India Company had run a trading post on theisland of Hirado. The departure of the Portuguese left the Dutch employees of the "Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie" ("VOC") as the sole Westerners with trade access to Japan. For 33 years they were allowed to trade relatively freely. At its maximum, the Hirado trading post (平戸オランダ商館,Hirado Oranda Shōkan) covered a large area.[6] In 1637 and 1639 stone warehouses were constructed within the ambit of this Hirado trading post. Christian-era year dates were used on the stonework of the new warehouses and these were used in 1640 as a pretext to demolish the buildings and relocate the trading post to Nagasaki.[7]
With the expulsion of the last Portuguese in 1639, Dejima became a failed commercial post and without the annual trading with Portuguese ships from Macau, the economy of Nagasaki suffered greatly. The Dutch were forced by government officials to move from Hirado to Dejima in Nagasaki.[8] From 1641 on, only Chinese and Dutch ships were allowed to come to Japan, and Nagasaki harbor was the only one they were allowed to enter.
On the administrative level, the island of Dejima was part of the city of Nagasaki. The 25 local Japanese families who owned the land received an annual rent from the Dutch. Dejima was a small island, 120 metres (390 ft) by 75 metres (246 ft),[9] linked to the mainland by a small bridge, guarded on both sides, and with a gate on the Dutch side. It contained houses for about twenty Dutchmen, warehouses, and accommodation for Japanese officials.[10]
The Dutch were watched by several Japanese officials, gatekeepers, night watchmen, and a supervisor (乙名,otona) with about fifty subordinates. Numerous merchants supplied goods and catering, and about 150 interpreters (通詞,tsūji) served. They all had to be paid by theVOC. As the city of Nagasaki, Dejima was under the direct supervision of Edo through a governor (Nagasaki bugyō).[10]
Every ship that arrived in Dejima was inspected. Its sails were held by the Japanese until they released the ship to leave. They confiscated religious books and weapons. Christian churches were banned on the island and the Dutch were not allowed to hold any religious services.[11]
Despite the financial burden of maintaining the isolated outpost on Dejima, the trade with Japan was very profitable for the Dutch, initially yielding profits of 50% or more. Trade declined in the 18th century, as only two ships per year were allowed to dock at Dejima. After the bankruptcy of the East-India Company in 1795, the Dutch government took over the exchange with Japan. Times were especially hard when the Netherlands, then called theBatavian Republic, was underFrench Napoleonic rule. All ties with the homeland were severed at Dejima, and for a while, it was the only place in the world where the Dutch flag was flown.
The chief VOC trading post officer in Japan was called theOpperhoofd by the Dutch, orKapitan (from Portuguesecapitão) by the Japanese. This descriptive title did not change when the VOC went bankrupt and trade with Japan was continued by the Dutch Indies government atBatavia. According to thesakoku rules of theTokugawa shogunate, the VOC had to transfer and replace the opperhoofd every year with a new one. And eachopperhoofd was expected to travel to Edo tooffer tribute to the shogun.[10]
Originally, the Dutch mainly traded insilk,cotton, andmateria medica from China and India.Sugar became more important later.Deerpelts andshark skin were transported to Japan fromFormosa, as well as books, scientific instruments and many other rarities from Europe. In return, the Dutch traders bought Japanese copper, silver,camphor,porcelain,lacquerware, and rice.[12]
To this was added the personal trade of VOC employees on Dejima, which was an important source of income for them and their Japanese counterparts. They sold more than 10,000 foreign books on various scientific subjects to the Japanese from the end of the 18th to the early 19th century. These became the basis of knowledge and a factor in theRangaku movement, or Dutch studies.[citation needed]
In all, 606 Dutch ships arrived at Dejima during its two centuries of settlement, from 1641 to 1847.
For two hundred years, foreign merchants were generally not allowed to cross from Dejima to Nagasaki. Japanese civilians were likewise banned from entering Dejima, except interpreters, cooks, carpenters, clerks andyūjo ("women of pleasure") from the Maruyama teahouses. Theyūjo were handpicked from 1642 by the Japanese, often against their will. From the 18th century, there were some exceptions to this rule, especially followingTokugawa Yoshimune's doctrine of promoting European practical sciences. A fewOranda-yuki ("those who stay with the Dutch") were allowed to stay for longer periods, but they had to report regularly to the Japanese guard post. Once a year the Europeans were allowed to attend the festivities at the Suwa-Shrine under escort. Sometimes physicians such asEngelbert Kaempfer,Carl Peter Thunberg, andPhilipp Franz von Siebold were called to high-ranking Japanese patients with the permission of the authorities.[b] Starting in the 18th century, Dejima became known throughout Japan as a center of medicine, military science, and astronomy. Manysamurai traveled there for "Dutch studies" (Rangaku).[citation needed]
TheOpperhoofd was treated like the representative of a tributary state, which meant that he had to pay a visit ofhomage to theshōgun inEdo. The Dutch delegation traveled to Edo yearly between 1660 and 1790, and once every four years thereafter. This prerogative was denied to the Chinese traders. The lengthy travel to the shogunal court broke the boredom of the Dutch stay, but it was a costly affair. Government officials told them in advance and in detail which (expensive) gifts were expected at the court, such asastrolabes, a pair of glasses, telescopes, globes, medical instruments, medical books, or exotic animals and tropical birds.[citation needed]
In return, the Dutch delegation received some gifts from theshōgun. On arrival in Edo, theOpperhoofd and his retinue, usually his scribe and the factory physician, had to wait in theNagasakiya (長崎屋), their mandatory residence, until they were summoned at the court. During the reign of the somewhat eccentricshōgun Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, they were expected to perform Dutch dances and songs for the amusement of theshōgun after their official audience, according toEngelbert Kaempfer. But they also used the opportunity of their stay of about two to three weeks in the capital to exchange knowledge with learned Japanese and, under escort, to visit the town.[citation needed]
Allegations published in the late 17th and early 18th century that Dutch traders were required by the Shogunate to renounce their Christian faith and undergo the test of treading on afumi-e, an image ofJesus orMary, are thought by modern scholars to be propaganda arising from theAnglo-Dutch Wars.[14]
Following the forced opening of Japan by US NavyCommodore Perry in 1854, theBakufu suddenly increased its interactions with Dejima in an effort to build up knowledge of Western shipping methods. TheNagasaki Naval Training Center (長崎海軍伝習所,Nagasaki Kaigun Denshūsho), a naval training institute, was established in 1855 by the government of theshōgun at the entrance of Dejima, to enable maximum interaction with Dutch naval know-how. The center was equipped with Japan's first steamship, theKankō Maru, given by the government of the Netherlands the same year. The future AdmiralEnomoto Takeaki was one of the students of the Training Center.[citation needed]
TheDutch East India Company's trading post at Dejima was abolished when Japan concluded theTreaty of Kanagawa with the United States in 1858. This ended Dejima's role as Japan's only window on the Western world during the era ofnational isolation. Since then, the island was expanded byreclaimed land and merged into Nagasaki. Extensive redesigning of Nagasaki Harbor in 1904 obscured its original location.[16] The original footprint of Dejima Island has been marked by rivets; but as restoration progresses, theambit of the island will be easier to see at a glance.
Dejima today is a work in progress. The island was designated a national historic site in 1922, but further steps were slow to follow. Restoration work was started in 1953, but that project languished.[16] In 1996, restoration of Dejima began with plans for reconstructing 25 buildings in their early 19th-century state. To better display Dejima's fan-shaped form, the project anticipated rebuilding only parts of the surrounding embankment wall that had once enclosed the island. Buildings that remained from theMeiji period were to be used.
In 2000, five buildings, including the Deputy Factor's Quarters, were completed and opened to the public. In the spring of 2006, the finishing touches were put on the Chief Factor's Residence, the Japanese Officials' Office, the Head Clerk's Quarters, the No. 3 Warehouse, and the Sea Gate. In total, some ten buildings throughout the area have been restored.
In 2017, six new buildings, as well as the Omotemon Bridge (the old bridge to the mainland), were restored. The bridge was officially opened in attendance of members of the Japanese and Dutch royal families.[17]
Long-term planning intends that Dejima will again be surrounded by water on all four sides; its characteristic fan-shaped form and all of its embankment walls will be fully restored. This long-term plan will include large-scale urban redevelopment in the area. To make Dejima an island again will require rerouting the Nakashima River and moving a part of Route 499.
Opperhoofd is a Dutch word (pluralopperhoofden) which literally means 'supreme head'. The Japanese used to call the trading post chiefskapitan which is derived fromPortuguesecapitão (cf. Latincaput, head). In its historical usage, the word is agubernatorial title, comparable to the EnglishChief factor, for the chief executive officer of a Dutchfactory in the sense of trading post, as led by a Factor, i.e. agent.
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32°44′37″N129°52′23″E / 32.74352°N 129.87302°E /32.74352; 129.87302
