Dejima

Initially, the construction of the artificial island was begun in 1634 by order of the shogun Iemitsu as a place of trade and storage of goods for Portuguese merchants. In 1637 there was an uprising in Shimabar , in which the Japanese Christians took an active part, after which the shogunate , alarmed by the growing influence of Christianity in Japan , decided to expel all Europeans from the country. In 1639, the shogun completely expelled the Portuguese from Japan and, accordingly, from Dejima. However, taking into account the help that the Dutch rendered in suppressing the Shimabar rebellion and the fact that they professed Calvinism without engaging in missionary activity, the shogun allowed the Dutch East India Company to trade through Nagasaki ^[1] .

At first, the Dutch mission occupied quite vast areas in the port of Hirado . In the years 1637-1639, the Dutch decided to equip the trading post in Hirado with stone houses and warehouses, which served as a formal reason for their expulsion to the island of Dejima. The pretext for their expulsion was the fact that the Dutch, according to the European tradition, stamped the dates of construction on the elements of buildings in the calculation from the birth of Christ. Thus, they inadvertently violated the bakufu decree, according to which any Christian symbols , including Christian chronology , were completely banned in Japan ^[2] .

This small oversight of the Dutch allowed the shogun to accuse them of inability to abide by the strict Sakoku rules, as a result, in 1641 the trading post in Hirado was destroyed, and the Dutch had to be content with the tiny and much less comfortable Dejima, where the Japanese authorities could easily control all the relations of foreigners in Japanese territory .

From that moment, only China and the Netherlands were allowed to trade with Japan . Significant was the fact that Dejima is an artificial island , which means that the foot of strangers did not touch the sacred land of Japan. The island itself was frankly small - only 120 by 75 meters, rising 1-2 meters above sea level. However, the number of people constantly living on Dejima was also very small and rarely exceeded 20 people, usually there were no more than 10-12 Europeans, several times less than the Japanese officials and employees who vigilantly controlled all the actions of Dutch merchants. For the same purpose, the shogun obliged the Dutch to change their representatives in Japan annually so that they did not get too close and dangerous ties on the Japanese islands.

Money for the construction of the island, begun in 1634 and completed in 1636, was provided by 25 trading houses in Japan, which maintained business contacts with European merchants and benefited from this significant benefits.

With the territory of Kyushu, the island of Dejimu was connected by a small bridge, guarded on both sides. On the Dutch part of it there was a gate ^[3] . In addition to trading warehouses, houses and several halls for official visits of Japanese representatives were built on the island. On the island, in addition to the guards, a rather large official staff of Japanese control officers was also present. An island keeper with 50 assistants, a large number of merchants, about 150 translators - all of them received salaries at the expense of the East India Company . Dejima, remaining the territory of Edo , was ruled by the special governor of Bugyo ( 奉行 ) , responsible for all contacts between the island and Japan. He personally had to inspect the Dutch ships calling at the port, seize any religious literature, and also make sure that sailing weapons were removed from the arriving ships until they received official permission to sail. Renting Dejima cost the Dutch 55 kame silver every year. In addition, they had to pay separately for drinking water that was brought from Nagasaki.

To brighten up the harsh living conditions on a small island, the Dutch planted about a dozen trees on the island, set up a miniature garden and created a small subsidiary farm, where they had cows, sheep, pigs, hens.

Japanese authorities tightly controlled all Dutch contacts to the point that sailors from one ship were not allowed to visit other ships. On the two-sided bridge that connected Dejima with Japanese territory, there was an inscription: "Only for prostitutes, no entry for other women." In addition, poles with signs were posted in the water around the island with signs indicating a ban on approaching the island, which in addition was surrounded by a high fence, along the top of which there was a double row of iron spikes.

Not a single Japanese was allowed to live in the house of the Dutch, nor was it allowed to bury the Dutch in Japan. But if a Japanese woman had a child from a European, then a Japanese mother was allowed to live in his father's house as a nurse, however, the child was considered Japanese and he was subject to the same restrictions from a very early age as other Japanese nationals in relations with foreigners.

All aspects of European life were tightly controlled and all religious services were strictly prohibited, both on the island and on ships. For every exit to the city, the Europeans needed a special permit. In the XVIII century, Japanese authorities allowed the Dutch to visit the "fun quarters" in Nagasaki in the Maruyama area.

In winter, the head of the Dutch trading post, along with his subordinates, had to make a trip to the capital of the country, the city of Edo, to introduce himself to the shogun and to pay his respects to him, in those days such a trip took 2-3 months. In addition, the company was obliged to annually report to the shogun on affairs in Europe and the world at large, which allowed the Japanese government to keep abreast of world events.

Despite all the company's expenses, which were significant, trade with Japan remained very profitable until the end of the 18th century. By that time, the restrictions on sakoku were further strengthened and the Japanese began to allow no more than two ships per year to enter Dejima. After the bankruptcy of the Dutch East Indies in 1795, the administration of Dejima passed into the hands of the state. The trading post was in particularly difficult times at a time when the Netherlands, at that time called the Batavian Republic , was controlled by Napoleon , and the merchants had no connection with their homeland. For five years, Dejima remained (along with Dutch Guinea ) one of two places on Earth where the Dutch flag fluttered ^[4] .

Initially, silk from China was the main commodity for Dutch trade, but later the Dutch were able to interest Japan with sugar , which turned out to be much more profitable for them. In addition, deer skins and a variety of leathers from Asia , as well as wool and glass products from Europe , were in demand. From Japan, the Dutch brought mainly silver and other metals, as well as porcelain .

Over the entire bicentennial history of Dejima (1641-1847), 606 Dutch ships visited the port. At first, the Dutch traded freely, but since 1671, the shogun, fearing European influence, increasingly limited its trade turnover. First, a limitation of 5 ships a year was introduced, then from 1715 - 2 ships, from 1790 even one, although later Japanese authorities returned to the practice of two ships a year. During the Napoleonic Wars , when the Netherlands became a province of France , the British fleet impeded trade and openly attacked Dutch ships. However, the supply of Dejima and at this time was not interrupted, trade continued with the help of neutral vessels from America and Denmark . After the liberation of the Netherlands from French occupation in 1815, regular trade resumed.

Of particular importance to Japan was the sale of books and various scientific instruments, which arose as a private initiative of some merchants, usually from the administrators of Dejima. The sale of scientific and technical literature and technological innovations not only brought good income to traders, but also allowed Japan to quickly make up for the technological gap from the West. Over two centuries, the Japanese bought more than 10,000 foreign books covering a wide variety of sciences, which served as the central factor in the rangaku movement (“Dutch science”). The long penetration of European scientific knowledge and the almost universal literacy of the population in Japan contributed to the acculturation in Japanese society of an extensive set of modern Western achievements, including medicine, anatomy, physics, astronomy, geodesy, geography, chemistry, linguistics, a number of other sciences, as well as many new technology.

An active study of Western science and technology as part of the rangaku movement, made possible by a stable channel of scientific and technical information through Dejima, allowed the Japanese to prepare for the opening of the country for Europeans and then, in the Meiji era, to reduce their infrastructure and technological gap from the West in a short time.

• Photography , the first lessons of which were given to the Japanese in 1856 by the island's doctor, Dr. J.K. van den Broek.
• Badminton , a sport originating from India, was imported into Japan by the Dutch in the 18th century; he was referred to the Japanese as a Dutch Conversation .
• Billiards was imported to Japan through Dejima in 1764; in the paintings of the artist Kanagawa Keig (川 原 慶賀) he was called “The table of the breaking balls” (玉 突 の 場).
• Beer was probably imported to Japan during the Sakoku period. Dutch governor Hendrik Doeff brewed his beer in Nagasaki due to interruptions in supplies during the Napoleonic Wars. Own beer production in Japan began in 1880.
• Clover was imported into Japan by the Dutch as a packaging material for fragile goods. The Japanese called it "White packing grass" (シ ロ ツ メ ク サ).
• Coffee was imported by the Dutch into Japan under the names Moka and koffie . The last name appears in the XVIII century in Japanese books. Dr. Siebold in 1823 mentions coffee lovers in Nagasaki.
• The very first piano in Japan was imported by Dr. Siebold in 1823, and was later given to them by a merchant named Kumaya (熊 谷). This piano is now on display at the Kumai Art Museum (熊 谷 美術館) in Hagi .
• Oil paints (Tar) used for ships. The Dutch name for paint ( pitch ) entered the Japanese language as (foams / ペ ン キ).
• Cabbage and tomatoes were imported into Japan by the Dutch in the 17th century.
• Chocolate was imported between 1789 and 1801; it is referred to as the drink of the "fun houses" of the Maruyama quarter in Nagasaki.

At the beginning of the 20th century, construction work was carried out in the port of Nagasaki, as a result of which the island of Dejima disappeared, being bombarded with the expansion of the city due to the bay. Now it is the coastal part of the city of Nagasaki, and in the place of the former Dejima now there are modern buildings.

Since 1996, a large-scale restoration program has been launched in Nagasaki, which also affected Dejima. Within its framework, in 1998 the first Protestant seminary in Japan was restored, which now houses the Dejima Historical Museum. The museum exposition acquaints visitors with the life and culture of the island of Dejima during the Sakoku period. There is also a 1/15 model of the island.

According to one version, the reason for the construction of the island in the form of a fan was the order of the shogun Iemitsu, who showed his fan and ordered to create the island according to his model.

• 片 桐 一 男 『開 か れ た 鎖 国長崎 出 島 の 人 ・ 物 ・ 情報 』 （講 談 社 現代 新書 、 1997 年） ISBN 4-06-149377-9 (Japanese)
• 西 和 夫 『長崎 出 島 オ ラ ン ダ 異国 事情』 （角 川 書店 、 2004 年） ISBN 4-04-702128-8 (Japanese)
• 赤 瀬 浩 『「 株式会社 」長崎 出 島』 （（講 談 社 選 書 メ チ エ 、 2005 年） ISBN 4-06-258336-4 (Japanese)
• 西 和 夫 編 『復原 オ ラ ン ダ 商 館 長崎 出 島 ル ネ サ ン ス』 （戎光祥 出版 、 2004 年） ISBN 4-900901-35-0 (Japanese)

• Dejima Map
• The Story of Dejima
• Timeline of the Edo Period (unopened) (link unavailable) . Date of treatment April 1, 2019. Archived October 25, 2007. (version of the site dated October 25, 2007. web.archive.org )