Dejima | A visit to the Dutch trading post in Japan

Описание: Last May I finally was able to visit to the fan-shaped island in Nagasaki with the rich Dutch history.
The island - which is currently still engulfed by the reclaimed land of the city of Nagasaki - once was the pride of the Dutch and I needed to see why!

I was very surprised to learn that once - from 1810-1815 - Dejima was actually the only place in the world flying the national flag of the Kingdom of the Netherlands!
The buildings, while there are many still being refurbished, were so stunning and unlike anything I had seen before in Japan. This is mainly because the Dutch installed glass windows and apparently surprised the Japanese by decorating the in- and outside with colored paint and used decorative bamboo paper - normally only used for traditional sliding doors - to cover the interior walls and even the ceilings!

The fan shaped island was originally built to house the Portuguese merchants, but when fear for the Christian religion grew, the Portuguese were banned from Japan. The Dutch who were happier to keep trading with Japan - but to stop practicing any religious activities - were moved from their original trading post on the island of Hirado and were moved (and confined) to this man-made island in the harbor of Nagasaki.

There is so much to learn about VOC chip "de liefde" and Siebold and Jan Joosten van Lodensteyn, but since I am no history teacher I will leave you with just a cute video and hopefully peak your interest in learning more about the Dutch ties to Japan.

#Dejima #nederlandsegeschiedenis #japanesehistory

Music:
Future bass vlog
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