Dejima

Dejima (Japanese: 出島; lit. 'exit island') or Deshima, in the 17th century also called Tsukishima (築島; lit. 'built island'), was an artificial island off Nagasaki, Japan, that served as a trading post for the Portuguese (1570–1639) and subsequently the Dutch (1641–1858). For 220 years, it was the central conduit for foreign trade and cultural exchange with Japan during the isolationist Edo period (1600–1869), and the only Japanese territory open to Westerners. Dejima was created in 1636 by digging a canal through a small peninsula and linking it to the mainland with a small bridge. The island was constructed by the Tokugawa shogunate, whose isolationist 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 a rebellion 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 over 200 years, the Dutch were not allowed to set foot in Japan, and were kept under poor conditions. Trade was highly scrutinized, and 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. — Engelbert Kaempfer, on visiting Japan The open practice of Christianity 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...