List of Westerners who visited Japan before 1868

Last updated

This list contains notable Europeans and Americans who visited Japan before the Meiji Restoration. The name of each individual is followed by the year of the first visit, the country of origin, and a brief explanation.

Contents

16th century

17th century

(Note: In 1639, the Japanese government promulgated the Sakoku policy, which prohibited foreigners from entering Japanese territory. The only exceptions were Dutch traders and associated workers permitted to live on Dejima Island. This policy lasted until 1854.)

18th century

19th century

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Convention of Kanagawa</span> 1854 treaty between Japan and the US

The Convention of Kanagawa, also known as the Kanagawa Treaty or the Japan–US Treaty of Peace and Amity, was a treaty signed between the United States and the Tokugawa Shogunate on March 31, 1854. Signed under threat of force, it effectively meant the end of Japan's 220-year-old policy of national seclusion (sakoku) by opening the ports of Shimoda and Hakodate to American vessels. It also ensured the safety of American castaways and established the position of an American consul in Japan. The treaty precipitated the signing of similar treaties establishing diplomatic relations with other Western powers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dejima</span> Former artificial island in Nagasaki

Dejima or Deshima, in the 17th century also called Tsukishima, 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tokugawa shogunate</span> 1603–1868 Japanese military government

The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the Edo shogunate, was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edo period</span> Period of Japanese history from 1603 to 1868

The Edo period, also known as the Tokugawa period, is the period between 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional daimyo. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characterized by economic growth, strict social order, isolationist foreign policies, a stable population, overall peace, and popular enjoyment of arts and culture, colloquially referred to as Ōedo.

<i>Bakumatsu</i> 1853–1867 final years of the Edo period of Japan

Bakumatsu were the final years of the Edo period when the Tokugawa shogunate ended. Between 1853 and 1867, under foreign diplomatic and military pressure, Japan ended its isolationist foreign policy known as sakoku and changed from a feudal Tokugawa shogunate to the modern empire of the Meiji government. The major ideological-political divide during this period was between the pro-imperial nationalists called ishin shishi and the shogunate forces, which included the elite shinsengumi swordsmen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tokugawa Tsunayoshi</span> Japanese shogun

Tokugawa Tsunayoshi was the fifth shōgun of the Tokugawa dynasty of Japan. He was the younger brother of Tokugawa Ietsuna, as well as the son of Tokugawa Iemitsu, the grandson of Tokugawa Hidetada, and the great-grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hirado, Nagasaki</span> City in Kyushu, Japan

Hirado is a city located in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. As of 1 June 2024, the city had an estimated population of 28,172, and a population density of 120 people per km2. The total area of the city is 235.12 km2 (90.78 sq mi)

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carl Peter Thunberg</span> Swedish naturalist (1743–1828)

Carl Peter Thunberg, also known as Karl Peter von Thunberg, Carl Pehr Thunberg, or Carl Per Thunberg, was a Swedish naturalist and an "apostle" of Carl Linnaeus. After studying under Linnaeus at Uppsala University, he spent seven years travelling in southern Italy and Asia, collecting and describing people and animals new to European science, and observing local cultures. He has been called "the father of South African botany", "pioneer of Occidental Medicine in Japan", and the "Japanese Linnaeus".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black Ships</span> 16th-19th-century Japanese term for Western vessels

The Black Ships were the names given to both Portuguese merchant ships and American warships arriving in Japan in the 16th and 19th centuries respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">An'ei</span> Period of Japanese history (1772–1781)

An'ei (安永) was a Japanese era name after Meiwa and before Tenmei. This period spanned the years November 1772 through March 1781. The reigning emperors were Go-Momozono-tennō (後桃園天皇) and Kōkaku-tennō (光格天皇).

<i>Sakoku</i> Japanese isolationist policy from 1633–1853

Sakoku is the most common name for the isolationist foreign policy of the Japanese Tokugawa shogunate under which, during the Edo period, relations and trade between Japan and other countries were severely limited, and almost all foreign nationals were banned from entering Japan, while common Japanese people were kept from leaving the country. The policy was enacted by the shogunate government (bakufu) under Tokugawa Iemitsu through a number of edicts and policies from 1633 to 1639. The term sakoku originates from the manuscript work Sakoku-ron (鎖國論) written by Japanese astronomer and translator Shizuki Tadao in 1801. Shizuki invented the word while translating the works of the 17th-century German traveller Engelbert Kaempfer namely, his book, 'the history of Japan', posthumously released in 1727.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Melchior van Santvoort</span> Dutch sailor who travelled to Japan (c. 1570 – 1641)

Melchior van Santvoort was one of the first Dutchmen in Japan, was a purser on the Dutch ship De Liefde, which was stranded in Japan in 1600. Some of his shipmates were Jacob Quaeckernaeck, Jan Joosten, and William Adams. Van Santvoort remained in Japan, where he spent 39 years as a merchant in Nagasaki.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nagasaki Naval Training Center</span>

The Nagasaki Naval Training Center was a naval training institute, between 1855 when it was established by the government of the Tokugawa shogunate, until 1859, when it was transferred to Tsukiji in Edo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Janus Henricus Donker Curtius</span>

Jan Hendrik Donker Curtius was the last Opperhoofd of the Dutch trading post in Japan (1852-1855), located at Dejima an artificial island in the harbor of Nagasaki. To negotiate with the Japanese government for a treaty, he received the title "Dutch Commissioner in Japan" in 1855.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isaac Titsingh</span> 18th and 19th-century Dutch diplomat, scholar, and merchant

Isaac Titsingh FRS was a Dutch diplomat, historian, Japanologist, and merchant. During a long career in East Asia, Titsingh was a senior official of the Dutch East India Company. He represented the European trading company in exclusive official contact with Tokugawa Japan, traveling to Edo twice for audiences with the shogun and other high bakufu officials. He was the Dutch and VOC governor general in Chinsura, Bengal.

Hendrik Godfried Duurkoop was a Dutch merchant-trader and VOC Opperhoofd in Japan. During his career with the Dutch East Indies Company, he worked on Dejima, a small artificial island in the harbor of Nagasaki, Japan.

<i>Nagasaki bugyō</i>

Nagasaki bugyō (長崎奉行) were officials of the Tokugawa shogunate in Edo period Japan. Appointments to this prominent office were usually fudaidaimyōs, but this was amongst the senior administrative posts open to those who were not daimyōs. Conventional interpretations have construed these Japanese titles as "commissioner", "overseer" or "governor".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">VOC chief traders in Japan</span> Heads of the Dutch trading post in Japan

VOC chief traders in Japan were the opperhoofden of the Dutch East India Company in Japan during the Edo period, when Japan was ruled by the Tokugawa shogunate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dutch missions to Edo</span>

The Dutch East India Company missions to Edo were regular tribute missions to the court of the Tokugawa shōgun in Edo to reassure the ties between the Bakufu and the Opperhoofd. The Opperhoofd of the Dutch factory in Dejima and his attendants were escorted by the Japanese to Edo where they presented exotic and elaborate gifts to the shōgun: clocks, telescopes, medicines, artillery and rare animals were usual gifts of the tribute missions. The shōgun would correspond at the same time with gifts to the Dutch. The tribute system, as in China, served to enhance the idea of the shōgun's supremacy to his subjects.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hirado Dutch Trading Post</span>

The Hirado Dutch Trading Post was a trading base of the Dutch East India Company on the island of Hirado, Nagasaki Prefecture Japan. It was established in 1609 and lasted for 33 years. The site was designated a National Historic Site of Japan in 1922.

References

  1. Tanegashima: the arrival of Europe in Japan, Olof G. Lidin, Nordic Institute of Asian Studies, NIAS Press, 2002
  2. Pacheco, Diego (Winter 1974). "Xavier and Tanegashima". Monumenta Nipponica . 29 (4): 477–480. doi:10.2307/2383897. JSTOR   2383897.
  3. Diego Pacheco, S. J., El hombre que forjó a Nagasaki. Vida del P. Cosme de Torres, S. J. Madrid, 1973.
  4. Yuuki, Diego R. (1990). "Luís de Almeida: Doctor, Traveller And Priest". Review of Culture. 10. Instituto cultural de Macau: 7–26.
  5. [https://www.teses.usp.br/teses/disponiveis/8/8157/tde-03102013-101034/publico/2013_MarianaAmabileBoscariol_VCorr.pdf No que toca à língua e adaptação na metodologia de trabalho jesuíta no Japão: Gaspar Vilela, Alessandro Valignano e João Rodrigues (1549–1620)
  6. The First European Description of Japan, 1585: A Critical English-Language Edition of Striking Contrasts in the... by Luis Frois SJ, Daniel T. Reff and Richard Danford (Mar 7, 2014)
  7. Biography of Luis Frois http://kotobank.jp/word/ルイス・フロイス
  8. 大濱徹也 (2009年7月). "ルイス・フロイスが見た日本". 日本文教出版.
  9. Cooper, Michael. Rodrigues the Interpreter: An Early Jesuit in Japan and China. New York: Weatherhill, 1973
  10. 1 2 Samurai William: The Englishman Who Opened Japan. By Giles Milton
  11. 1 2 Pars Japonica: The First Dutch Expedition to Reach the Shores of Japan. Brought by the English Pilot Will Adams, Hero of Shogun, (2006) by William de Lange.
  12. The making of an enterprise: the Society of Jesus in Portugal, its empire, and beyond, 1540–1750, Dauril Alden, Stanford University Press, 1996
  13. Yasuko Suzuki, Japan-Netherlands Trade 1600–1800: The Dutch East India Company and Beyond
  14. Kaempfer's Japan: Tokugawa Culture Observed by Engelbert Kaempfer, Beatrice Bodart-Bailey and Beatrice M. Bodart-Bailey (1998)
  15. Mikkou Saigo no Bateren Sidotti. By Furui Tomoko. 2010. ISBN   978-4404038562.
  16. Matthew Jones, "The Oriental Irish", History Ireland , Volume 22, Issue 1 (January/February 2014)
  17. Glynn Barratt. Russia in Pacific Waters, 1715–1825. UBC Press, 1981. ISBN   9780774801171. Pages 35–37.
  18. Boxer, C.R. (1950) Jan Compagnie in Japan, 1600–1850. Martinus Nijhoff: The Hague, p. 135.
  19. Kodayu to Rakusuman: Bakumatsu Nichi-Ro koshoshi no ichi sokumen (Tosui rekishi zensho) (Japanese Edition) by Ryohei Kisaki (1992)
  20. Flora Japonica (1784)
  21. "Phaeton Incident and Saga-han." by Saga Castle History Museum "幕末・維新期の佐賀:佐賀城本丸歴史館". Archived from the original on 2014-07-15. Retrieved 2014-07-06.
  22. Narrative of my Captivity in Japan, etc. To which is added, an account of voyages to the coasts of Japan, and for the release of the author. by Capt. Rikord by Vasily Mikhailovich Golovnin
  23. Siebold and Japan. His Life and Work. by Arlette Kouwenhoven, Matthi Forrer, M. Forrer and A. Kouwenhoven (2000)
  24. Felice Beato: A Photographer on the Eastern Road. By Anne Lacoste.
  25. The Perry mission to Japan, 1853–1854 by William Gerald Beasley, Aaron Haight Palmer, Henry F. Graff, Yashi Shōzan, Ernest Mason Satow, Shuziro Watanabe
  26. Townsend Harris, First American Envoy in Japan by William Elliot Griffis
  27. Japan Journal, 1855–1861 by Henry Heusken
  28. His journal: Acht Monate in Japan nach Abschluß des Vertrage von Kanagawa; Bremen 1857, Permalink
  29. The Capital of the Tycoon: A Narrative of a Three Years' Residence in Japan. By Rutherford Alcock.
  30. A Japanese and English Dictionary with an English and Japanese Index by James Curtis Hepburn
  31. トーマス・グラバー伝 アレキサンダー マッケイ (著), Alexander McKay (原著), 平岡 緑 (翻訳) ISBN   978-4120026522
  32. Glimpses Of Old Japan, 1861–1866. By Margaret Tate Kinnear Ballagh
  33. 宣教師ニコライと明治日本 中村 健之介 (Senkyōshi Nikorai to Meiji Nihon, by Nakamura Kennosuke) 
  34. Wirgman Drawings collection under (2002) ISBN   4000257528 by Haga Toru
  35. "The Anglo-Japanese War". November 15, 1863, New York Times.
  36. A Diplomat in Japan by Ernest Mason Satow
  37. Japan and the Japanese Illustrated (Google eBook) by Aimé Humbert, Frances Cashel Hoey. R. Bentley & son, 1874 – Japan
  38. The first watchmaker in Japan.
  39. Member of the first diplomatic mission to Japan
  40. La Chine et le Japon au temps présent (1867)
  41. Morton, Robert (2017). A.B. Mitford and the Birth of Japan as a Modern State: Letters Home. Amsterdam University Press. doi:10.2307/j.ctt1s17p1q. ISBN   978-1-898823-48-3. JSTOR   j.ctt1s17p1q.
  42. Héon, François-Xavier (2010). "Le véritable dernier Samouraï : l'épopée japonaise du capitaine Brunet". Stratégique (in French). N˚ 99 (1): 193–223. doi:10.3917/strat.099.0193.