Dejima: the Dutch in Japan (1641–1858)
In the early 20th century, Japan became known as “the first industrial power in Asia.” (Social Revolution and Education, 2018) The preceding 200 years had seen Japan remain a singularly insular nation. How did this secluded archipelago embrace the practices of its global neighbors so quickly? The seeds of this apparently dramatic transformation were planted over time through a chink in the political armor the Japanese leadership had woven around their domain two centuries earlier.
Japan’s drastic late 19th-century modernization can be traced back to the Edo period. The sakoku policy — literally meaning “locked in” — lasted from 1636 to 1854, though it was not formally named until 1801 (Compton 275–276, 2013). Sakoku began with a series of edicts established between 1633–1639 that mainly prohibited travel, and restricted trade with special licenses issued by the Tokugawa shogunate. Several countries including the U.S. requested Japan to open trade but they continuously refused. Japanese international trade was limited to specific nations and geographically only enabled through Dejima Island.
“Foreign trade was limited to the port of Nagasaki, chosen, in part, because of its considerable distance from Japan’s political capital in Edo. Official foreign trade was limited to Chinese and Dutch ships, and the number of ships permitted to come to Japan each year was determined by the Edo government.” (Jannetta 53, 2007)
What is Dejima?
The history of Dejima Island goes back to 1543 when Portuguese merchants arrived at Tanegashima and by 1570 had already established a trade-port in Nagasaki. After the Shimabara Rebellion, military concerns about Christianity eventually expelled Europeans from Japan and punished Japanese converts (Watts, 2001). Since the Dutch provided weapons against the rebellion, the shogunate allowed them alone to remain on the infamous Dejima Island (Compton 276, 2013), an artificial island originally built for the Portuguese, that soon became the Dutch trading post for the next 200 years with Japan.
Despite their help, the Dutch were still treated suspiciously. As Deshima (1988) mentions, the Dutch viewed Dejima as a prison. Its design included an offshore palisade with bridge-controlled access to the island, only authorized to employees and licensees of the shogun. Dutch ships moored exclusively at Dejima, and even the full-time staff were not allowed to cross the bridge without imperial summons. Isolation from the mainland was nearly complete, broken only by a semi-annual escorted visit to the royal court.
Interaction with Japan
The Tokugawa shogun demanded foreign intelligence reports in exchange for the right to trade. According to Jannetta (184, 2007), the Edo government was never completely up to date on foreign affairs, so the interpreters that came and went from Dejima were the only referral to the outside. These interpreters, called oranda-tsuuji had the most contact with the Dutch since their offices were on the island (Deshima, 1988). Stanlaw (47, 2004) explains that the oranda-tsuuji functioned as customs officials when ships arrived, accompanied Dutch captains on annual visits to report on world affairs, and learnt from Western medicine on the artificial island. Acquisition and research of foreign developments in medicine, science, and technology became known as ran-gaku, or “Dutch studies’’ (Deshima, 1988).
“The eighth shogun Tokugawa Yoshimune (1684–1751) lifted some of the sakoku restrictions in the mid-eighteenth century, and Western books imparting secular knowledge began to be imported around that time. The discipline of ran-gaku (now seen as ‘Western studies’) expanded both in terms of access and subject matter, and the first Dutch-Japanese dictionary was compiled in 1796.” (Stanlaw 47)
Global shifts in power took their toll on the exclusive Japanese-Dutch relationship. The French Revolution led to the occupation of the Netherlands, and the eventual dissolution of the Dutch East Company; the Opium Wars in China, led to the establishment of numerous ports in Hong Kong and brought more trade interest to Asia. Such events weakened the Dutch and attracted the Americans to Japan, ending in 1858 Japan’s 200 year long isolation. Nevertheless, this did not cease contact with the Dutch; assistance continued to be offered throughout the 19th century and currently the Dutch’s civil engineering, science, and medicine practices can still be perceived in Japanese streets (Kingdom of the Netherlands, 2021).
Dejima as History
Today, Dejima has been nearly overrun by urban development, and is considered a historical restoration site. It was designated a museum in 1957, but 40 years later the work was still in progress. A New York Times reporter commented in 1997; “Because of landfills, Dejima is no longer an island, and it is hard to tell where it starts and ends, but there are still some signs of its past.” (Kristof, 1997). This comment refers to Dejima’s infrastructure and records, but also alludes to modern Japan’s international relations. For Willis D.B. and Murphy-Shigematsu S. (2007) Dejima’s physical integration into Japan, equally represents Japan’s integration into the World and the window out of their isolation.
Dejima is important to study through the lenses of imperialism and colonialism. Trade, a tool for economic growth, took place as a means for social and cultural exchange under extremely restricted conditions. As sole mediator between Europe and Japan for over 200 years, the Netherlands unmistakably determined Japan’s steps towards modernization. This could be considered an imperialistic situation, because the path of progress was altered externally. Economic motivations led Dutchmen to Dejima for a forced yearly isolation period that removed them from their free lives, but offered them the slightest opportunity to affect Japanese society for good. Dejima’s role as an isolated entity within Japan and the amount of ‘foreign’ control the Dutch experienced, raises the question on whether Deijima’s presence in Japan itself resembles that of a colony under imperialist control. Regardless of the answer, Dejima remains a unique link between past politics and present societies that should continue to be researched.
Brenden Misener, Jacob Smith, Mariana Gutiérrez-Aguilar, Patricio Lozáno-Zarate.
Tecnológico de Monterrey — Oakland Community College
April 21st, 2021.
Sources
Compton, J. A., & Thijsse, G. (2013). The Remarkable P. F. B. Von Siebold, His Life in Europe and Japan. Curtis’s Botanical Magazine, 30(3), 275–314.
Deshima. (1988). In Encyclopedia of Asian History. Charles Scribner’s Sons.
Jannetta, A. B. (2007). The Vaccinators : Smallpox, Medical Knowledge, and the ‘Opening’ of Japan. Stanford University Press.
Kristof, N. D. (1997, February 16). In Nagasaki, Beauty And Tragedy Entwined. New York Times.
Shuseki, W. (1944). Unnamed painting. [handscroll]. The Trustees of the British Museum, London, United Kingdom.
Social Revolution and Education. (2018, October 31). Japan Economic Foundation [Tokyo, Japan], 37(5), 1.
Stanlaw, J. (2004). Japanese English: Language and Culture Contact. Hong Kong University Press.
