1543?1614 period of Japanese history
Nanban
trade
(
南?貿易
,
Nanban b?eki
, "Southern barbarian trade")
or the
Nanban
trade period
(
南?貿易時代
,
Nanban b?eki jidai
, "Southern barbarian trade period")
was a period in the
history of Japan
from the arrival of
Europeans
in 1543 to the first
Sakoku
Seclusion Edicts of
isolationism
in 1614.
[note 1]
Nanban
(南?
lit.
'
Southern barbarian
'
) is a Japanese word which had been used to designate people from
Southern China
, the
Ryukyu Islands
, the
Indian Ocean
, and
Southeast Asia
centuries prior to the arrival of the first Europeans. For instance, according to the
Nihon Kiryaku
(日本紀略),
Dazaifu
, the administrative center of
Ky?sh?
, reported that the Nanban (southern barbarian) pirates, who were identified as
Amami
islanders by the
Sh?y?ki
(982?1032 for the extant portion), pillaged a wide area of Ky?sh? in 997. In response, Dazaifu ordered
Kikaijima
(貴駕島) to arrest the Nanban.
[1]
The
Nanban
trade as a form of European contact began with
Portuguese
explorers, missionaries, and merchants
in the
Sengoku period
and established long-distance overseas
trade routes
with Japan. The resulting technological and
cultural exchange
included the introduction of
matchlock
firearms,
cannons
,
galleon
-style shipbuilding,
Christianity
to Japan, among other cultural aspects. The
Nanban
trade declined in the early
Edo period
with the rise of the
Tokugawa Shogunate
which feared the influence of Christianity in Japan, particularly the
Roman Catholicism
of the Portuguese. The Tokugawa issued a series of
Sakoku
policies that increasingly isolated Japan from the outside world and limited European trade to
Dutch
traders on the island of
Dejima
.
First contacts
[
edit
]
First Westerners in Japan, by
Hokusai
, 1817. Caption: "On August 25, 1543, these foreigners were cast upon the island of Tanegashima,
?sumi Province
", followed by the two names
Murashukusha
(unknown) and
Kirishitam?ta
(i.e.
Antonio da Mota
, also known as
Cristovao
, the
Portuguese equivalent
to Cristopher).
[2]
The
samurai
Hasekura Tsunenaga
in Rome in 1615 (Coll. Borghese, Rome)
Japanese accounts of Europeans
[
edit
]
The
characters
for "
Nanban
" (lit. "Southern barbarian").
Following contact with the
Portuguese
on
Tanegashima
in 1543, the Japanese were at first rather wary of the newly arrived foreigners. The
culture shock
was quite strong, especially because Europeans were not able to understand the
Japanese writing system
nor accustomed to using chopsticks.
They eat with their fingers instead of with chopsticks such as we use. They show their feelings without any self-control. They cannot understand the meaning of written characters. (from Boxer,
Christian Century
).
European accounts of Japan
[
edit
]
The island of
Jampon
, according to what all the Chinese say, is larger than that of the
Lequios
, and the king is more powerful and greater and is not given to trading, nor are his subjects. He is a heathen king, a vassal of the king of China. They do not often trade in China because it is far off and they have no
junks
, nor are they seafaring men.
The first comprehensive and systematic report of a European about Japan is the
Tratado em que se contem muito sucinta e abreviadamente algumas contradicoes e diferencas de costumes entre a gente de Europa e esta provincia de Japao
of
Luis Frois
, in which he described Japanese life concerning the roles and duties of men and women, children, Japanese food, weapons, medicine, medical treatment, diseases, books, houses, gardens, horses, ships and cultural aspects of Japanese life like dances and music.
[4]
Several decades later, when
Hasekura Tsunenaga
became the first Japanese official arriving in Europe, his presence, habits and cultural mannerisms gave rise to many picturesque descriptions circulating among the public:
- "They never touch food with their fingers, but instead use
two small sticks
that they hold with three fingers."
- "They blow their noses in
soft silky papers
the size of a hand, which they never use twice, so that they throw them on the ground after usage, and they were delighted to see our people around them precipitate themselves to pick them up."
- "Their
Scimitar
-like
swords
and daggers cut so well that they can cut a soft paper just by putting it on the edge and by blowing on it." ("Relations of Mme de St Tropez", October 1615, Bibliotheque Inguimbertine, Carpentras).
[5]
Renaissance Europeans were quite fond of Japan's immense richness in precious metals, mainly owing to
Marco Polo
's accounts of gilded temples and palaces, but also to the relative abundance of surface ores characteristic of a volcanic country, before large-scale deep-mining became possible in Industrial times. Japan was to become a major exporter of
copper
and
silver
during the period. At its peak, 1/3 of the world's silver came from Japan.
[6]
Japan was also noted for its comparable or even exceptional levels of population and urbanization relative to the nations of the West (see
List of countries by population in 1600
), and some Europeans became quite fascinated with Japan, with
Alessandro Valignano
even writing that the Japanese "excel not only all the other Oriental peoples, they surpass the Europeans as well".
[7]
Early European visitors noted the quality of Japanese craftsmanship and metalsmithing. The later sources, most notably those written after the end of
Japan's isolation period
, also report Japanese blades and swords in general as good quality weapons with a notable artistic value.
[8]
[9]
Portuguese trade in the 16th century
[
edit
]
The Portuguese "
Japan Route
"
Ever since 1514 that the Portuguese had traded with
China
from
Malacca
, and the year after the first Portuguese landfall in Japan, trade commenced between Malacca, China, and Japan. The Chinese Emperor had decreed an embargo against Japan as a result of piratical
wokou
raids against China ? consequently, Chinese goods were in scarce supply in Japan and so, the Portuguese found a lucrative opportunity to act as middlemen between the two realms.
Trade with Japan was initially open to any, but in 1550, the Portuguese Crown monopolized the rights to trade with Japan.
Henceforth, once a year a
fidalgo
was awarded the rights for a single trade venture to Japan with considerable privileges, such as the title of
captain-major of the voyage to Japan
, with authority over any Portuguese subjects in China or Japan while he was in port, and the right to sell his post, should he lack the necessary funds to undertake the enterprise. He could charter a royal vessel or purchase his own, at about 40,000
xerafins
.
His ship would set sail from Goa, called at Malacca and China before proceeding to Japan and back.
In 1554, captain-major Leonel de Sousa
negotiated with Chinese authorities the re-legalization of Portuguese trade in China
, which was followed by the foundation of
Macau
in 1557 to support this trade.
The state of civil-war in Japan was also highly beneficial to the Portuguese, as each competing lord sought to attract trade to their domains by offering better conditions.
In 1571, the fishing village of Nagasaki became the definitive anchorage of the Portuguese and in 1580, its lord,
Omura Sumitada
, the first Japanese lord to convert to Christianity,
leased it
to the
Jesuits
"in perpetuity".
The city subsequently evolved from an unimportant fishing village to a prosperous and cosmopolitan community, the entirety of which was Christian.
In time, the city would be graced with a painting school, a hospital, a charitable institution (the
Misericordia
) and a Jesuit college.
Vessels
[
edit
]
A Portuguese
carrack
in
Nagasaki
, 17th century.
Portuguese traders landing in Nagasaki
Among the vessels involved in the trade linking Goa and Japan, the most famous were Portuguese
carracks
, slow but large enough to hold a great deal of merchandise and enough provisions to travel safely through such a lengthy and often hazardous (because of pirates) journey. These ships initially had about 400?600 tons burden but later on could reach as many as over 1200 or 1600 tons in cargo capacity, a rare few reaching as many as 2000 tons ? they were the largest vessels afloat on Earth, and easily twice or three times larger than common galleons of the time, rivalled only in size by the Spanish
Manila galleons
.
Many of these were built at the royal Indo-Portuguese shipyards at
Goa
,
Bassein
or
Daman
, out of high-quality Indian
teakwood
rather than European pine, and their build quality became renowned; the Spanish in Manila favoured Portuguese-built vessels,
and commented that they were not only cheaper than their own, but "lasted ten times as long".
The Portuguese referred to this vessel as the
nau da prata
("silver carrack") or
nau do trato
("trade carrack"); the Japanese dubbed them
kurofune
, meaning "
black ships
", on account of the colour of their hulls, painted black with
pitch
for water-tightening, and later the name was extended to refer to
Matthew C. Perry
's black warships that reopened Japan to the wider world in 1853.
In the 16th century, large junks belonging to private owners from Macau often accompanied the great ship to Japan, about two or three; these could reach about 400 or 500 tons burden.
After 1618, the Portuguese switched to using smaller and more maneuverable
pinnaces
and
galliots
, to avoid interception from Dutch raiders.
Traded goods
[
edit
]
By far the most valuable commodities exchanged in the "nanban trade" were Chinese silks for Japanese silver, which was then traded in China for more silk.
Although accurate statistics are lacking, it has been estimated that roughly half of Japan's yearly silver output was exported, most of it through the
Wokou
(Japanese and Chinese),
Ryukyuans
and Portuguese, amounting to about 18 ? 20 tons in silver
bullion
.
The English merchant
Peter Mundy
estimated that Portuguese investment at Canton ascended to 1,500,000 silver
taels
or 2,000,000
Spanish dollars
.
[21]
The Portuguese also exported surplus silk from Macau to Goa and Europe via Manila.
A
Japanese lacquerware
produced and exported at the request of the
Society of Jesus
. Azuchi?Momoyama period, 16th century,
Kyushu National Museum
Nonetheless, numerous other items were also transactioned, such as gold, Chinese
porcelain
,
musk
, and
rhubarb
; Arabian horses, Bengal tigers and
peacocks
; fine Indian scarlet cloths,
calico
and
chintz
; European manufactured items such as Flemish clocks and Venetian glass and Portuguese wine and
rapiers
;
in return for Japanese copper,
lacquer
and
lacquerware
or weapons (as purely exotic items to be displayed in Europe).
Japanese lacquerware
attracted European aristocrats and missionaries from Europe, and western style chests and church furniture were exported in response to their requests.
[26]
Japanese and other Asians captured in battle were also sold by their compatriots to the Portuguese as slaves, but the Japanese would also sell family members they could not afford to sustain because of the civil-war. According to Prof.
Charles Boxer
, both old and modern Asian authors have "conveniently overlooked" their part in the enslavement of their countrymen.
[28]
They were well regarded for their skills and warlike character, and some ended as far as India and even Europe, some armed retainers or as concubines or slaves to other slaves of the Portuguese.
[29]
[30]
A
maki-e
and mother-of-pearl inlay cabinet that was exported from Japan to Europe in the 16th century.
Metropolitan Museum of Art
In 1571,
King Sebastian of Portugal
issued a ban on the enslavement of both Chinese and Japanese, probably fearing the negative effects it might have on proselytization efforts as well as the standing diplomacy and trade between the countries.
[31]
[32]
[28]
Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the de facto ruler of Japan, enforced the end of the enslavement of his countrymen starting in 1587 and it was suppressed shortly thereafter.
[32]
[33]
[34]
However, Hideyoshi later sold Korean prisoners of war captured during the
Japanese invasions of Korea (1592?1598)
as slaves to the Portuguese.
[35]
[36]
The overall profits from the Japan trade, carried on through the black ship, was estimated to ascend to over 600,000
cruzados
, according to various contemporary authors such as
Diogo do Couto
,
Jan Huygen van Linschoten
and
William Adams
. A captain-major who invested at Goa 20,000
cruzados
to this venture could expect 150,000
cruzados
in profits upon returning.
The value of Portuguese exports from Nagasaki during the 16th century were estimated to ascend to over 1,000,000
cruzados
, reaching as many as 3,000,000 in 1637.
The Dutch estimated this was the equivalent of some 6,100,000
guilders
, almost as much as the entire founding capital of the
Dutch East India Company
(VOC) (6,500,000 guilders).
VOC profits in all of Asia amounted to "just" about 1,200,000 guilders, all its assets worth 9,500,000 guilders.
The monopoly of Portugal on trade with Japan for a European nation started being challenged by Spanish ships from Manila after 1600 (until 1620
), the Dutch after 1609 and the English in 1613 (until 1623
). Nonetheless, it was found that neither the Dutch nor the Spanish could effectively replace the Portuguese because Portugal had privileged access to Chinese markets and investors through Macau.
The Portuguese were only definitively banned in 1638 after the
Shimabara Rebellion
, on the grounds that they smuggled priests into Japan aboard their vessels.
Dutch trade
[
edit
]
The
Dutch
, who, rather than
"Nanban"
were called
"K?m?"
(Jp: 紅毛, lit. "Red Hair") by the Japanese, first arrived in Japan in 1600, on board the
Liefde
("
liefde
" meaning "love"). Their pilot was
William Adams
, the first Englishman to reach Japan.
In 1605, two of the
Liefde'
s crew were sent to
Pattani
by Tokugawa Ieyasu, to invite Dutch trade to Japan. The head of the Pattani Dutch trading post, Victor Sprinckel, refused on the ground that he was too busy dealing with Portuguese opposition in Southeast Asia. In 1609 however, the Dutchman
Jacques Specx
arrived with two ships in Hirado, and through Adams obtained trading privileges from Ieyasu.
The
Dutch
also engaged in piracy and naval combat to weaken
Portuguese
and Spanish shipping in the Pacific, and ultimately became the only westerners to be allowed access to Japan from the small enclave of
Dejima
after 1639 and for the next two centuries.
Nanban
ships arriving for trade in Japan. 16th-century six-fold
by?bu
(
lacquer
and gilded screen), by
Kan? Naizen
Technological and cultural exchanges
[
edit
]
Japanese
Red seal trade
in the early 17th century.
[42]
The Japanese were introduced to several new technologies and cultural practices (so were the Europeans to Japanese, see
Japonisme
), whether in the military area (the
arquebus
,
cannon
, European-style
cuirasses
, European ships such as
galleons
), religion (
Christianity
),
decorative art
, language (integration to Japanese of a
Western vocabulary
) and culinary: the
Portuguese
introduced the
tempura
and European-style confectionery, creating
nanbangashi
(
南?菓子
)
, "southern barbarian confectionery", with confectioneries like
castella
,
konpeit?
,
aruheit?
,
karumera
,
keiran s?men
,
b?ro
and
bisukauto
. Other traded goods brought by Europeans to Japan were clocks, soap, tobacco, among other products.
Tanegashima guns
[
edit
]
Japanese
arquebus
of the
Edo era
(
Tanegashima
).
One of the many things that the Japanese were interested in were Portuguese hand-held
guns
. The first two Europeans to reach Japan in the year 1543 were the Portuguese traders
Antonio da Mota
and Francisco Zeimoto (
Fernao Mendes Pinto
claimed to have arrived on this ship as well, but this is in direct conflict with other data he presents), arriving on a Chinese ship at the southern island of
Tanegashima
where they introduced hand-held guns for trade. The Japanese were already familiar with
gunpowder
weaponry (invented by, and transmitted from China), and had been using basic Chinese originated guns and cannon tubes called "
Tepp?
" (?砲 "Iron cannon") for around 270 years before the arrival of the Portuguese. In comparison, the Portuguese guns were light, had a
matchlock
firing mechanism, and were easy to aim. Because the Portuguese-made firearms were introduced into Tanegashima, the
arquebus
was ultimately called
Tanegashima
in Japan. At that time, Japan was in the middle of a civil war called the
Sengoku period
(Warring States period).
Within a year after the first trade in guns, Japanese swordsmiths and ironsmiths managed to reproduce the matchlock mechanism and mass-produce the Portuguese guns. Early issues due to Japanese inexperience was corrected with the help of Portuguese blacksmiths. The Japanese soon worked on various techniques to improve the effectiveness of their guns and even developed larger caliber barrels and ammunition to increase lethality. Barely fifty years later, Japanese armies dwarfed any contemporary European army in the use of guns. The daimyo who initiated the unification of Japan,
Oda Nobunaga
, made extensive use of guns (arquebus) when playing a key role in the
Battle of Nagashino
, as dramatised in
Akira Kurosawa
's 1980 film
Kagemusha
(Shadow Warrior). Guns were also strongly instrumental in the unification efforts of
Toyotomi Hideyoshi
and
Tokugawa Ieyasu
, as well as in the
invasions of Korea
in 1592 and 1597.
Red seal ships
[
edit
]
European ships (
galleons
) were also quite influential in the Japanese shipbuilding industry and actually stimulated many Japanese ventures abroad.
The Shogunate established a system of commercial ventures on licensed ships called
red seal ships
(
朱印船
,
shuinsen
)
, which sailed throughout East and Southeast Asia for trade. These ships incorporated many elements of galleon design, such as sails, rudder, and gun disposition. They brought to Southeast Asian ports many Japanese traders and adventurers, who sometimes became quite influential in local affairs, such as the adventurer
Yamada Nagamasa
in
Siam
, or later became Japanese popular icons, such as
Tenjiku Tokubei
.
By the beginning of the 17th century, the shogunate had built, usually with the help of foreign experts, several ships of purely
Nanban
design, such as the galleon
San Juan Bautista
, which crossed the Pacific two times on embassies to
Nueva Espana
(Mexico).
Catholicism in Japan
[
edit
]
The
Bell of Nanbanji
, made in Portugal for
Nanbanji
Church, established by Jesuits in 1576 and destroyed 1587, Japan
With the arrival of the leading
Jesuit
Francis Xavier
in 1549, Catholicism progressively developed as a major religious force in Japan. Although the tolerance of Western "padres" was initially linked to trade, Catholics could claim around 200,000 converts by the end of the 16th century, mainly located in the southern island of
Ky?sh?
. The Jesuits managed to obtain jurisdiction over the trading city of
Nagasaki
.
The first reaction from the
kampaku
Hideyoshi
came in 1587 when he promulgated the interdiction of Christianity and ordered the departure of all "padres". This resolution was not followed upon however (only 3 out of 130 Jesuits left Japan), and the Jesuits were essentially able to pursue their activities. Hideyoshi had written that:
- "1. Japan is a country of the Gods, and for the padres to come hither and preach a devilish law, is a reprehensible and devilish thing ...
- 2. For the padres to come to Japan and convert people to their creed, destroying Shinto and Buddhist temples to this end, is a hitherto unseen and unheard-of thing ... to stir the canaille to commit outrages of this sort is something deserving of severe punishment."
(From Boxer,
The Christian Century in Japan
)
Saint Mary of the Snows hanging scroll (c. 1600)
Portrait of
Oda Nobunaga
, circa 1583
Hideyoshi's reaction to Christianity proved stronger when the Spanish
galleon
San Felipe
was wrecked in Japan in 1597. The incident led to
twenty-six Christians
(6 Franciscans, 17 of their Japanese neophytes, and 3 Japanese Jesuit lay brothers ? included by mistake) being crucified in
Nagasaki
on February 5, 1597. It seems Hideyoshi's decision was taken following encouragements by the Jesuits to expel the rival order, his being informed by the Spanish that military conquest usually followed Catholic proselytism, and by his own desire to take over the cargo of the ship. Although close to a hundred churches were destroyed, most of the Jesuits remained in Japan.
The final blow came with
Tokugawa Ieyasu
's firm interdiction of Christianity in 1614, which led to underground activities by the
Jesuits
and to their participation in
Hideyori
's revolt in the
siege of Osaka
(1614?1615). Repression of Catholicism became virulent after Ieyasu's death in 1616, leading to the torturing and killing of around 2,000 Christians (70 westerners and the rest Japanese) and the apostasy of the remaining 200?300,000. The last major reaction of the Christians in Japan was the
Shimabara rebellion
in 1637. Thereafter, Catholicism in Japan was driven underground as the so-called "
Hidden Christians
".
Other
Nanban
influences
[
edit
]
The Nanban also had various other influences:
- Nanband?
(
南?胴
) designates a type of cuirass covering the trunk in one piece, a design imported from Europe.
- Nanbanbijutsu
(
南?美術
) generally describes Japanese art with Nanban themes or influenced by Nanban designs.
- Nanbanga
(南??) designates the numerous pictorial representations that were made of the new foreigners and defines a whole style category in Japanese art.
- Nanbannuri
(南?塗り) describes lacquers decorated in the Portuguese style, which were very popular items from the late 16th century.
- Namban-ry?ri
(南?料理) refers to dishes that use ingredients introduced by the Portuguese and Spanish, such as Spanish pepper, winter onion, corn or pumpkin, as well as methods of preparation such as deep-frying (e.g.
tempura
).
- Nanbangashi
(
南?菓子
) is a variety of sweets derived from Portuguese or Spanish recipes. The most popular sweets are "
Kasutera
" (カステラ), named after
Castile
, and "
Konpeit?
" (金平糖 こんぺいとう), from the Portuguese word "
confeito
" ("sugar candy"), and
"
Biscuit
"(ビスケット), etc. These "Southern barbarian" sweets are on sale in many Japanese supermarkets today.
- Nanbanji
or
Nanbandera
(
南?寺
)
was the first
Christian
church in Kyoto. With support from
Oda Nobunaga
, the
Jesuit
Padre
Gnecchi-Soldo Organtino
established this church in 1576. Eleven years later (1587), Nanbanji was destroyed by
Toyotomi Hideyoshi
. Currently, the bell is preserved as "Nanbanji-no-kane"
Shunkoin temple
in Kyoto.
- Nanbanzuke
(南?漬) is a dish of fried fish marinated in vinegar, thought to be derived from the Portuguese
escabeche
.
- Namban-ry? geka
(南?流外科), Japanese “Southern Barbarian-style surgery,” which adopted some wound plasters and the use of palm oil, pig fat, tobacco, etc. from the Portuguese. However, as a result of the increasingly severe persecution of Christians since the end of the 16th century, this status remained. In the middle of the 17th century, these Western elements were then incorporated into the newly emerged surgery in the style of the redheads (紅毛流外科
k?m?-ry? geka
), i.e . the Dutch one.
- Namban-by?bu
(南??風), "S
outhern Barbarian screens
", multi-part screens on which two motifs dominate: (a) the arrival of a Portuguese ship and (b) the procession of the landed foreigners through the port city.
- Chikin nanban
(
チキン南?
) is a dish of fried battered chicken dipped in a vinegary sauce derived from
nanbanzuke
and served with
tartar sauce
. Invented in
Miyazaki
in the 1960s, it is now widely popular across Japan.
[43]
Linguistic exchange
[
edit
]
The intensive exchange with the “southern barbarians” did not remain without influence on the Japanese vocabulary. Some loanwords from
Portuguese
and
Dutch
have survived to this day:
pan
(パン, from pao, bread),
tempura
(天ぷら, from tempero, seasoning),
botan
(ボタン, from botao, button),
karuta
(カルタ, from cartas de jogar, playing cards),
furasuko
(フラスコ, from frasco, flask, bottle),
marumero
(マルメロ, from marmelo, quince), etc. Some words are now only used in scientific texts or in historical context, e.g.
iruman
(イルマン, from irmao, brother in a Christian order),
kapitan
(カピタン, from capitao, captain),
kirishitan
(キリシタン, from christao, Christian),
rasha
(ラシャ, from raxa, type of cotton fabric),
shabon
(シャボン, from sabao, soap). Some things from the New World came to Japan along with their names via the Portuguese and Spanish, such as:
tabako
(タバコ, from tabaco,
tobacco
derived from the
Taino
of the Caribbean). Some terms only known to experts today only became extinct in the 19th century:
porutogaru-yu
(ポルトガル油, Portugal oil, i.e. olive oil),
chinta
(チンタ, from vinho tinto, red wine),
empurasuto
(エンプラスト, from emprasto, plaster),
unguento
(ウングエント, from unguento, ointment).
Decline of
Nanban
exchanges
[
edit
]
Armor in European style
After the country was pacified and unified by
Tokugawa Ieyasu
in 1603 however, Japan progressively closed itself to the outside world, mainly because of the rise of
Christianity
.
In 1639, trade with Portugal was definitively prohibited and the Netherlands became the only European nation to be allowed in Japan. By 1650, except for the trade outpost of
Dejima
in
Nagasaki
, for the Netherlands, and some trade with China, foreigners were subject to the death penalty, and Christian converts were persecuted. Guns were almost completely eradicated to revert to the more "civilized" sword.
[
citation needed
]
Travel abroad and the building of large ships were also prohibited. Thence started a period of seclusion, peace, prosperity and mild progress known as the
Edo period
. But not long after, in the 1650s, the production of
Japanese export porcelain
increased greatly when civil war put the main Chinese center of porcelain production,
in Jingdezhen
, out of action for several decades. For the rest of the 17th century most
Japanese porcelain
production was in
Kyushu
for export through the Chinese and Dutch. The trade dwindled under renewed Chinese competition by the 1740s, before resuming after the opening of Japan in the 1850s.
[44]
The "barbarians" would come back 250 years later, strengthened by industrialization, and end Japan's isolation with the forcible opening of Japan to trade by an American military fleet under the command of Commodore
Matthew Perry
in 1854.
Usages of the word "
Nanban
"
[
edit
]
Nanband?, a Portuguese style cuirass, 16th century.
[45]
Nanban
is a
Sino-Japanese word
derived from the Chinese term
Nanman
, originally referring to the peoples of
South Asia
and
Southeast Asia
. The Japanese use of
Nanban
took a new meaning when it came to designate the early Portuguese who first arrived in 1543, and later extended to other Europeans that arrived in Japan. The term
Nanban
has its origins from the
Four Barbarians
in the
Hua?Yi distinction
in the 3rd century in China. Pronunciation of the Chinese Character is
Japanised
, the 東夷 (D?ngyi) "Eastern Barbarians" called "T?i" (it includes Japan itself), 南? (Nanman) "Southern Barbarians" called "Nanban", 西戎 (X?rong) "Western Barbarians" called "Sei-J?", and B?idi 北狄 "Northern Barbarians" called "Hoku-Teki". Although
Nanban
just meant Southeast Asia during the Sengoku and Edo periods, through time the word turned into the meaning "Western person", and "from Nanban" means "Exotic and Curious".
Japanese
inro
depicting Nanban foreigners, 17th century.
Strictly speaking,
Nanban
means "Portuguese or Spanish" who were the most popular western foreigners in Japan, while other western people were sometimes called "紅毛人" (K?-m?jin) "red-haired people" but K?-m?jin was not as widespread as
Nanban
. In China, "紅毛" is pronounced
Ang mo
in
Hokkien
and is a racist word against
white people
. Japan later decided to Westernize radically in order to better resist the West and essentially stopped considering the West as fundamentally uncivilized. Words like "
Y?fu
" (洋風 "western style") and "
?beifu
" (?米風 "European-American style") replaced "
Nanban
" in most usages.
Still, the exact principle of westernization was
Wakon-Y?sai
(和魂洋才 "Japanese spirit Western talent"), implying that, although technology may be more advanced in the West, Japanese spirit is better than the West's. Hence though the West may be lacking, it has its strong points, which takes the affront out of calling it "barbarian."
Today the word "
Nanban
" is only used in a historical context, and is essentially felt as picturesque and affectionate. It can sometimes be used jokingly to refer to Western people or civilization in a cultured manner.
There is an area where
Nanban
is used exclusively to refer to a certain style and that is cooking and the names of dishes.
Nanban dishes are not American or European, but an odd variety not using
soy sauce
or
miso
but rather curry powder and vinegar as their flavoring, a characteristic derived from Indo-Portuguese
Goan cuisine
. This is because when Portuguese and Spanish dishes were imported into Japan, dishes from Macau and other parts of China were imported as well.
Timeline
[
edit
]
- 1543 ? Portuguese sailors (among them possibly
Fernao Mendes Pinto
) arrive in
Tanegashima
and transmit the
arquebus
.
- 1549 ?
Francis Xavier
arrives in
Kagoshima
and introduces Christianity.
- 1556 ?
Luis de Almeida
builds the first hospital, with Western medicine, in ?ita
- 1557 ? Establishment of
Macau
by the Portuguese. Dispatch of annual trading ships to Japan.
- 1560 ?
Siege of Moji
, the
Otomo clan
unsuccessfully attempt to seize the
M?ri
castle of Moji with three Portuguese ships.
- 1563 ?
Luis Frois
arrives in Japan.
- 1565 ?
Battle of Fukuda Bay
, the first recorded naval clash between the Europeans and the Japanese
- 1570 ? Japanese pirates occupy parts of
Taiwan
, from where they prey on China.
- 1571 ?
Daimy?
?mura Sumitada
assists the Portuguese in establishing the port of
Nagasaki
.
- 1575 ?
Battle of Nagashino
, where firearms are used extensively.
- 1576 ? Japan's first cannon is presented to
?tomo S?rin
by Portugal.
- 1577 ? First Japanese ships travel to
Dang Trong
,
southern Vietnam
.
- 1579 ? The
Jesuit
Alessandro Valignano
arrives in Japan.
- 1580 ? ?mura Sumitada cedes Nagasaki "in perpetuity" to the
Society of Jesus
.
- 1582 ?
Tensh? embassy
to Europe departs from Nagasaki.
- 1584 ?
Mancio It?
arrives in
Lisbon
with three other Japanese, accompanied by a Jesuit father. He was the first Japanese envoy to Europe.
- 1587 ?
Toyotomi Hideyoshi
issues a document declaring the expulsion of Portuguese missionaries and freedom of trade.
- 1588 ? Hideyoshi prohibits piracy.
- 1592 ? Japan invades
Korea
in the
Seven-Year War
with an army of 160.000.
- 1597 ?
Martyrdom of 26 Christians
(essentially
Franciscans
) in
Nagasaki
.
- 1598 ? Death of Toyotomi Hideyoshi.
- 1600 ? Arrival of
William Adams
on the
Liefde
.
- 1602 ?
Dutch
warships attack the Portuguese carrack
Santa Catarina
near
Portuguese Malacca
.
- 1603 ? Establishment of
Edo
as the seat of
Bakufu
government.
- ? Establishment of the English
factory (trading post)
at
Bantam
,
Java
.
- ?
Nippo Jisho
Japanese to Portuguese dictionary is published by Jesuits in Nagasaki, containing entries for 32,293 Japanese words in Portuguese.
- 1605 ? Two of William Adams's shipmates are sent to
Pattani
by Tokugawa Ieyasu, to invite Dutch trade to Japan.
- 1609 ? The Dutch open a trading factory in
Hirado
.
- 1610 ? Destruction of the
Nossa Senhora da Graca
near Nagasaki, leading to a 2-year hiatus in Portuguese trade
- 1612 ?
Yamada Nagamasa
settles in
Ayutthaya
,
Siam
.
- 1613 ? England opens a trading factory in Hirado.
- 1614 ? Expulsion of the
Jesuits
from Japan. Prohibition of Christianity.
- 1615 ? Japanese Jesuits start to proselytise in
Vietnam
.
- 1616 ? Death of
Tokugawa Ieyasu
.
- 1622 ? Mass martyrdom of 55 Christians (
Great Genna Martyrdom
).
- 1623 ? The English close their factory at Hirado, because of unprofitability.
- 1624 ? Interruption of diplomatic relations with Spain.
- ? Japanese Jesuits start to proselytise in Siam.
- 1628 ? Destruction of Takagi Sakuemon's (高木作右衛門) Red Seal ship in
Ayutthaya
, Siam, by a Spanish fleet. Portuguese trade in Japan is prohibited for 3 years as a reprisal.
- 1632 ? Death of Tokugawa Hidetada.
- 1634 ? On orders of sh?gun
Iemitsu
, the artificial island
Dejima
is built to constrain Portuguese merchants living in Nagasaki.
- 1637 ?
Shimabara Rebellion
by Christian peasants.
- 1639 ? Definitive prohibition of trade with Portugal as result of Shimabara Rebellion blamed on Catholic intrigues.
- 1640 ? Portugal
leaves
its 60-year dynastic union with Spain
- 1641 ? The Dutch trading factory is moved from Hirado to Dejima island.
See also
[
edit
]
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
Frequently referred to today in scholarship as
kaikin
, or "maritime restrictions", more accurately reflecting the booming trade that continued during this period and the fact that Japan was far from "closed" or "secluded."
References
[
edit
]
Citations
[
edit
]
- ^
"太田淳 著『近世東南アジア世界の?容――グロ?バル??とジャワ島地域社?』名古屋大?出版? 2014年 ix+505頁"
.
Southeast Asia: History and Culture
.
2016
(45): 164?167. 2016.
doi
:
10.5512/sea.2016.45_164
.
ISSN
0386-9040
.
- ^
Perrin 1979
, p. 7
- ^
First European Description of Life in Japan // 1585 'Striking Contrasts' Luis Frois ? Primary Source
.
Voices of the Past
. YouTube. 7 March 2020.
- ^
Marcouin, Francis; Omoto, Keiko (1990).
Quand le Japon s'ouvrit au monde
(in French). Paris: Decouvertes Gallimard. pp. 114?116.
ISBN
2-07-053118-X
.
- ^
Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine
- ^
Valignano, Alessandro
(1584).
Historia del Principio y Progreso de la Compania de Jesus en las Indias Orientales
.
- ^
Easton, Matt (3 October 2018).
Japanese 'Samurai' Swords in Period European Eyes
.
Scola Gladiatoria
. YouTube.
- ^
Easton, Matt (17 April 2017).
Katana vs Sabre: More European accounts of Japanese swords and sword fighting
.
Scola Gladiatoria
. YouTube.
- ^
The dollar or yuan is 0.72 tael; see
yuan (currency)#Early history
- ^
"Urushi once attracted the world"
.
Urushi Nation Joboji
.
Archived
from the original on 25 December 2019.
- ^
a
b
Hoffman, Michael (26 May 2013).
≪The rarely, if ever, told story of Japanese sold as slaves by Portuguese traders≫
. The Japan Times (Arq. em WayBack Machine)
- ^
Appiah, Kwame Anthony; Gates, Henry Louis Jr., eds. (2005).
Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience
(illustrated ed.). Oxford University Press. p. 479.
ISBN
0-19-517055-5
. Retrieved
2 February
2014
.
- ^
Appiah, Anthony; Gates, Henry Louis, eds. (2010).
Encyclopedia of Africa, Volume 1
(illustrated ed.). Oxford University Press. p. 187.
ISBN
978-0-19-533770-9
. Retrieved
2 February
2014
.
- ^
Dias 2007
, p. 71
- ^
a
b
Nelson, Thomas (Winter 2004). "Slavery in Medieval Japan".
Monumenta Nipponica
.
59
(4). Sophia University: 463?492.
JSTOR
25066328
.
- ^
Kitagawa, Joseph Mitsuo (2013).
Religion in Japanese History
(illustrated, reprint ed.). Columbia University Press. p. 144.
ISBN
978-0-231-51509-2
. Retrieved
2 February
2014
.
- ^
Calman, Donald (2013).
Nature and Origins of Japanese Imperialism
. Routledge. p. 37.
ISBN
978-1-134-91843-0
. Retrieved
2 February
2014
.
- ^
Lidin, Olof G. (2002).
Tanegashima ? The Arrival of Europe in Japan
. Routledge. p. 170.
ISBN
1-135-78871-5
. Retrieved
2 February
2014
.
- ^
Stanley, Amy (2012).
Selling Women: Prostitution, Markets, and the Household in Early Modern Japan
. Asia: Local Studies / Global Themes. Vol. 21. University of California Press.
ISBN
978-0-520-95238-6
. Retrieved
2 February
2014
.
- ^
Vie, Michel (2004).
Histoire du Japon
(in French). Paris: Presses Universitaires de France. p. 72.
ISBN
2-13-052893-7
.
- ^
"Chicken Nanban (チキン南?)"
. 10 May 2021.
- ^
Battie, David
, ed.,
Sotheby's Concise Encyclopedia of Porcelain
, pp. 71-78, 1990, Conran Octopus.
ISBN
1850292515
- ^
"E-Museum - Nanban (Western style) Armor"
.
Sources
[
edit
]
Further reading
[
edit
]
- Samurai
, Mitsuo Kure, Tuttle Publishing, Tokyo.
ISBN
0-8048-3287-0
- The Origins of Japanese Trade Supremacy. Development and Technology in Asia from 1540 to the Pacific War
, Christopher Howe, The University of Chicago Press.
ISBN
0-226-35485-7
- Yoshitomo Okamoto,
The Namban Art of Japan
, translated by Ronald K. Jones, Weatherhill/Heibonsha, New York & Tokyo, 1972
- Jose Yamashiro,
Choque luso no Japao dos seculos XVI e XVII
, Ibrasa, 1989
- Armando Martins Janeira,
O impacto portugues sobre a civilizacao japonesa
, Publicacoes Dom Quixote, Lisboa, 1970, 1988
- Wenceslau de Moraes
,
Relance da historia do Japao
, 2ª ed., Parceria A. M. Pereira Ltda, Lisboa, 1972
- They came to Japan, an anthology of European reports on Japan, 1543?1640
, ed. by Michael Cooper, University of California press, 1995
- Joao Rodrigues's Account of Sixteenth-Century Japan
, ed. by Michael Cooper, London: The Hakluyt Society, 2001 (
ISBN
0-904180-73-5
)
External links
[
edit
]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to
Nanban
.
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