Dejima

2025-07-14T20:45:29Z

95.24.30.198: /* Organization */

{{short description|Former artificial island in Nagasaki}}
{{About|the artificial island|the sumo wrestler|Dejima Takeharu}}
{{More citations needed|date=May 2025}}
{{Infobox island
|native_name = {{lang|ja|出島}}
|name = Dejima
|country = [[Japan]]
|location = [[Nagasaki]]
|image_map = Plattegrond van Deshima.jpg
|image_map_caption = An imagined bird's-eye view of Dejima's layout and structures (copied from a woodblock print by Toshimaya Bunjiemon of 1780 and published in [[Isaac Titsingh]]'s {{lang|nl|Bijzonderheden over Japan}} (1824/25)
}}
[[File:DutchDejima.png|thumb|17th-century Dutch Dejima, Japan]]
[[File:Nagasakie. Dutch man with his slave.jpg|thumb|A Dutchman with his servant at Dejima (18th-century painting by unknown artist, [[British Museum]] collection)]]
[[File:2017 model dejima museum volkenkunde.jpg|thumb|A 2017 model of Dejima in the [[National Museum of Ethnology (Netherlands)|Museum Volkenkunde]] in [[Leiden]]]]
[[File:Nagasaki Dejima C1771.jpg|thumb|A central part of reconstructed Dejima]]
[[File:DejimaInNagasakiBay.jpg|thumb|right|Dejima and Nagasaki Bay, circa 1820. Two Dutch ships and numerous Chinese trading junks are depicted.]]
[[File:Nagasaki bay siebold.jpg|thumb|right|A view of Dejima island in Nagasaki Bay (from Siebold's ''Nippon'', 1897)]]
[[File:Dutch personnel and Japanese women watching an incoming towed Dutch sailing ship at Dejima by Kawahara Keiga.jpg|thumb|Philipp Franz von Siebold (with Taki and his child Ine) watching an incoming Dutch ship at Dejima. Painting by Kawahara Keiga, between 1823 and 1829]]

{{Nihongo|'''Dejima'''|出島|extra={{lit|exit island}}|lead=yes}} or '''Deshima''',{{efn|Also [[Romanization|romanised]] in older documents as ''Decima'', ''Decuma'', ''Desjima'', ''Dezima'', ''Disma'' or ''Disima''.}} in the 17th century also called {{Nihongo|'''Tsukishima'''|築島|extra={{lit|built island}}}}, was an [[artificial island]] off [[Nagasaki]], [[Japan]], that served as a [[trading post]] for the [[Portuguese Empire|Portuguese]] (1570–1639) and subsequently the [[Dutch Empire|Dutch]] (1641–1858).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.japanvisitor.com/japan-city-guides/dejima-nagasaki|title=Dejima Nagasaki {{!}} JapanVisitor Japan Travel Guide|website=www.japanvisitor.com|language=en|access-date=2018-05-06}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Goss |first=Rob |title=The Wild West Outpost of Japan's Isolationist Era |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-wild-west-outpost-of-japans-isolationist-era-180980070/ |access-date=2022-06-25 |website=Smithsonian Magazine |language=en}}</ref>

Spanning {{convert|120|×|75|m|ft|-1|abbr=on}} or {{convert|9000|m2|acre|abbr=on}}, 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 [[Sakoku|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 [[Shimabara Rebellion|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. 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 Westerners with access to the Japanese markets. Dejima consequently played a key role in the Japanese movement of {{Nihongo3|Dutch learning|蘭學|''[[rangaku]]''}}, an organized scholarly effort to learn the [[Dutch language]] in order to understand Western science, medicine, and technology.<ref>{{Cite web |title=rangaku {{!}} Japanese history {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/rangaku |access-date=2022-06-25 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>

After the 1854 [[Treaty of Kanagawa]] set a precedent for more fully opening Japan to foreign trade and diplomatic relations, the Dutch negotiated [[1858 Treaty of Amity and Commerce between the Netherlands and Japan|their own treaty]] in 1858, which ended Dejima's status as exclusive trading post, greatly reducing its importance. The island was eventually subsumed into Nagasaki city through [[land reclamation]]. In 1922, the "Dejima Dutch Trading Post" was designated a [[Monuments of Japan|Japanese national historic site]], and there are ongoing efforts in the 21st century to restore Dejima as an island.

==History==
In 1543, the history of direct contact between Japan and Europe began with the arrival of storm-blown [[Portugal|Portuguese]] merchants on [[Tanegashima]]. Six years later the Jesuit missionary [[Francis Xavier]] landed in [[Kagoshima]]. At first Portuguese traders were based in [[Hirado, Nagasaki|Hirado]], but they moved in search of a better port. In 1570 ''[[daimyō]]'' [[Ōmura Sumitada]] converted to Catholicism (choosing Bartolomeu as his Christian name) and made a deal with the Portuguese to develop Nagasaki; soon the port was open for trade.{{Citation needed|date=November 2023}}

In 1580 Sumitada gave the jurisdiction of Nagasaki to the Jesuits, and the Portuguese obtained the ''[[de facto]]'' [[monopoly]] on the silk trade with China through [[Colonial Macau|Macau]]. The ''shōgun'' [[Tokugawa Iemitsu|Iemitsu]] ordered the construction of the artificial island in 1634, to accommodate the Portuguese traders living in Nagasaki and prevent the propagation of their religion. This was one of the many edicts put forth by Iemitsu between 1633 and 1639 moderating contact between Japan and other countries. However, in response to the [[Shimabara Rebellion|uprising]] of the predominantly Christian population in the [[Shimabara, Nagasaki|Shimabara]]-[[Amakusa Islands|Amakusa]] region, the [[Tokugawa shogunate|Tokugawa]] government decided to expel the Portuguese in 1639.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Laver |first=Michael S. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A70rqmKB7ikC&dq=Tokugawa+expel+portuguese+1639&pg=PA133 |title=The Sakoku Edicts and the Politics of Tokugawa Hegemony |date=2011 |publisher=Cambria Press |isbn=978-1-60497-738-7 |language=en}}</ref>

Since 1609, the [[Dutch East India Company]] had run a trading post on the [[Hirado Island|island of Hirado]]. The departure of the Portuguese left the Dutch employees of the "[[Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie]]" ("VOC") as the sole Westerners with trade access to Japan. For 33 years they were allowed to trade relatively freely. At its maximum, the {{Nihongo|Hirado trading post|平戸オランダ商館|Hirado Oranda Shōkan}} covered a large area.<ref>Edo-Tokyo Museum exhibition catalog. (2000). "A Very Unique Collection of Historical Significance: The Kapitan (the Dutch Chief) Collection from the Edo Period – The Dutch Fascination with Japan", p. 206.</ref> In 1637 and 1639 stone warehouses were constructed within the ambit of this Hirado trading post. Christian-era year dates were used on the stonework of the new warehouses and these were used in 1640 as a pretext to demolish the buildings and relocate the trading post to Nagasaki.<ref>Dutch Trading Post Heritage Network, 2021.[https://www.dtphn.org/hirado Hirado].</ref>

With the expulsion of the last Portuguese in 1639, Dejima became a failed commercial post and without the annual trading with Portuguese ships from Macau, the economy of Nagasaki suffered greatly. The Dutch were forced by government officials to move from Hirado to Dejima in Nagasaki.<ref name="ETM207">Edo-Tokyo Museum exhibition catalog, p. 207.</ref> From 1641 on, only Chinese and Dutch ships were allowed to come to Japan, and Nagasaki harbor was the only one they were allowed to enter.

==Organization==
On the administrative level, the island of Dejima was part of the city of Nagasaki. The 25 local Japanese families who owned the land received an annual rent from the Dutch. Dejima was a small island, {{convert|120|m}} by {{convert|75|m}},<ref>Ken Vos – The article "Dejima als venster en doorgeefluik" in the catalog (Brussels, 5 October 1989 – 16 December 1989) of the exhibition Europalia 1989: "Oranda: De Nederlanden in Japan (1600–1868)"</ref> linked to the mainland by a small bridge, guarded on both sides, and with a gate on the Dutch side. It contained houses for about twenty Dutchmen, warehouses, and accommodation for Japanese officials..<ref>{{cite web
| url = https://nagasakidejima.jp/english/history/
| title = Dejima History
| website = 〖公式〗出島〜dejima〜
| publisher = 出島復元整備事業実行委員会
| access-date = 9 July 2025
| language = English
}}</ref>

The Dutch were watched by several Japanese officials, gatekeepers, night watchmen, and a {{Nihongo|supervisor|乙名|otona}} with about fifty subordinates. Numerous merchants supplied goods and catering, and about 150 {{Nihongo|interpreters|通詞|tsūji}} served. They all had to be paid by the ''VOC''. As the city of Nagasaki, Dejima was under the direct supervision of Edo through a governor (''[[Nagasaki bugyō]]'').<ref>{{cite web
| url = https://nagasakidejima.jp/english/history/
| title = Dejima History
| website = 〖公式〗出島〜dejima〜
| publisher = 出島復元整備事業実行委員会
| access-date = 9 July 2025
| language = English
}}</ref>

Every ship that arrived in Dejima was inspected. Its sails were held by the Japanese until they released the ship to leave. They confiscated religious books and weapons. Christian churches were banned on the island and the Dutch were not allowed to hold any religious services.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Goss |first=Rob |date=May 13, 2022 |title=The Wild West Outpost of Japan's Isolationist Era |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-wild-west-outpost-of-japans-isolationist-era-180980070/ |access-date=March 24, 2024 |website=Smithsonian Magazine}}</ref>

Despite the financial burden of maintaining the isolated outpost on Dejima, the trade with Japan was very profitable for the Dutch, initially yielding profits of 50% or more. Trade declined in the 18th century, as only two ships per year were allowed to dock at Dejima. After the bankruptcy of the East-India Company in 1795, the Dutch government took over the exchange with Japan. Times were especially hard when the Netherlands, then called the [[Batavian Republic]], was under [[First French Empire|French Napoleonic rule]]. All ties with the homeland were severed at Dejima, and for a while, it was the only place in the world where the Dutch flag was flown.

The chief VOC trading post officer in Japan was called the ''[[Opperhoofd]]'' by the Dutch, or ''Kapitan'' (from Portuguese ''capitão'') by the Japanese. This descriptive title did not change when the VOC went bankrupt and trade with Japan was continued by the Dutch Indies government at [[Batavia, Dutch East Indies|Batavia]]. According to the ''[[sakoku]]'' rules of the [[Tokugawa shogunate]], the VOC had to transfer and replace the opperhoofd every year with a new one. And each opperhoofd was expected to travel to Edo to [[Dutch missions to Edo|offer tribute to the shogun]].<ref>{{cite web
| url = https://nagasakidejima.jp/english/history/
| title = Dejima History
| website = 〖公式〗出島〜dejima〜
| publisher = 出島復元整備事業実行委員会
| access-date = 9 July 2025
| language = English
}}</ref>

==Trade==
Originally, the Dutch mainly traded in [[silk]], cotton, and ''materia medica'' from China and India. Sugar became more important later. [[Deer]] [[Fur clothing|pelts]] and [[Shagreen|shark skin]] were transported to Japan from [[Dutch Formosa|Formosa]], as well as books, scientific instruments and many other rarities from Europe. In return, the Dutch traders bought Japanese copper, silver, [[camphor]], porcelain, lacquer ware, and rice.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Jörg |first1=Christiaan |title=Japanese Export Lacquer for the Dutch Market |journal=ICOMOS–Hefte des Deutschen Nationalkomitees |date=2000 |volume=35 |pages=43–46 |url=https://journals.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/index.php/icomoshefte/article/view/21334/15107 |access-date=21 June 2025}}</ref>

To this was added the personal trade of VOC employees on Dejima, which was an important source of income for them and their Japanese counterparts. They sold more than 10,000 foreign books on various scientific subjects to the Japanese from the end of the 18th to the early 19th century. These became the basis of knowledge and a factor in the ''[[Rangaku]]'' movement, or Dutch studies.{{Citation needed|date=November 2023}}

==Ships==
[[File:Drawing of Dutch VOC Ship Landskroon in Dejima Japan 1766.jpg|thumb|Drawing of the VOC ship Landskroon in Dejima, 1766]]
In all, 606 Dutch ships arrived at Dejima during its two centuries of settlement, from 1641 to 1847.
* The first period, from 1641 to 1671, was rather free and saw an average of seven Dutch ships every year (12 sank during this period).
* From 1671 to 1715, about five Dutch ships were allowed to visit Dejima every year.
* From 1715, only two ships were permitted every year, which was reduced to one ship in 1790, and again increased to two ships in 1799.
* During the [[Napoleonic Wars]] (1803–1815), in which the Netherlands was occupied by (and a satellite of) France, Dutch ships abstained from sailing to Japan directly due to the possibility of being captured by [[Royal Navy]] ships. They relied on "[[Neutral country|neutral]]" [[United States|American]] and [[Denmark-Norway|Danish]] ships. The Netherlands was [[Annexation|annexed]] by [[Napoleon|Napoleon Bonaparte]] (1810–1813), while Britain captured several Dutch colonial possessions and after the [[Invasion of Java (1811)|1811 invasion of Java]], Dejima was the only place in the world where the Dutch flag still flew, as ordered by commissioner [[Hendrik Doeff]].
* In 1815 the [[French and British interregnum in the Dutch East Indies|Dutch East Indies]] was returned to the control of the Netherlands and regular Dutch trading traffic was reestablished.

== Trade policy ==
For two hundred years, foreign merchants were generally not allowed to cross from Dejima to Nagasaki. Japanese civilians were likewise banned from entering Dejima, except interpreters, cooks, carpenters, clerks and [[Prostitution in Japan|yūjo]] ("women of pleasure") from the Maruyama teahouses. The ''yūjo'' were handpicked from 1642 by the Japanese, often against their will. From the 18th century, there were some exceptions to this rule, especially following [[Tokugawa Yoshimune]]'s doctrine of promoting European practical sciences. A few ''Oranda-yuki'' ("those who stay with the Dutch") were allowed to stay for longer periods, but they had to report regularly to the Japanese guard post. Once a year the Europeans were allowed to attend the festivities at the Suwa-Shrine under escort. Sometimes physicians such as [[Engelbert Kaempfer]], [[Carl Peter Thunberg]], and [[Philipp Franz von Siebold]] were called to high-ranking Japanese patients with the permission of the authorities.{{efn|In the context of Commodore Perry's "opening" of Japan in 1853, American naval expedition planners incorporated reference material written by men whose published accounts of Japan were based on first-hand experience. J. W. Spaulding brought with him books by Japanologists [[Engelbert Kaempfer]], [[Carl Peter Thunberg]], and [[Isaac Titsingh]].<ref>Screech, T. (2006). ''Secret Memoirs of the Shoguns: Isaac Titsingh and Japan, 1779–1822'', p. 73.</ref>}} Starting in the 18th century, Dejima became known throughout Japan as a center of medicine, military science, and astronomy. Many [[samurai]] traveled there for "Dutch studies" (''[[Rangaku]]'').{{Citation needed|date=November 2023}}

The ''Opperhoofd'' was treated like the representative of a tributary state, which meant that he had to pay a visit of [[Dutch missions to Edo|homage]] to the ''[[shōgun]]'' in [[Edo (Tokyo)|Edo]]. The Dutch delegation traveled to Edo yearly between 1660 and 1790, and once every four years thereafter. This prerogative was denied to the Chinese traders. The lengthy travel to the shogunal court broke the boredom of the Dutch stay, but it was a costly affair. Government officials told them in advance and in detail which (expensive) gifts were expected at the court, such as [[astrolabe]]s, a pair of glasses, telescopes, globes, medical instruments, medical books, or exotic animals and tropical birds.{{Citation needed|date=November 2023}}

In return, the Dutch delegation received some gifts from the ''shōgun''. On arrival in Edo, the ''Opperhoofd'' and his retinue, usually his scribe and the factory physician, had to wait in the {{Nihongo||[[:ja:長崎屋源右衛門|長崎屋]]|Nagasakiya}}, their mandatory residence, until they were summoned at the court. During the reign of the somewhat eccentric ''shōgun'' Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, they were expected to perform Dutch dances and songs for the amusement of the ''shōgun'' after their official audience, according to [[Engelbert Kaempfer]]. But they also used the opportunity of their stay of about two to three weeks in the capital to exchange knowledge with learned Japanese and, under escort, to visit the town.{{Citation needed|date=November 2023}}

Allegations published in the late 17th and early 18th century that Dutch traders were required by the Shogunate to renounce their Christian faith and undergo the test of treading on a ''[[fumi-e]]'', an image of [[Jesus]] or [[Mary (mother of Jesus)|Mary]], are thought by modern scholars to be propaganda arising from the [[Anglo-Dutch Wars]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gardiner |first1=Anne Barbeau |date=Summer 1991 |title=Swift on the Dutch East India Merchants: The Context of 1672-73 War Literature |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3817708 |journal=Huntington Library Quarterly |volume=54 |issue=3 |pages=234–252 |doi=10.2307/3817708 |jstor=3817708 |access-date=22 November 2022|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

==New introductions to Japan==
[[File:Dejima Scenes of Life in the Dutch Factory Handscroll Part 18th century.png|thumb|A scene of residential and badminton playing in Dejima, {{circa|late 18th century}}]]
[[File:DejimaBillard.jpg|thumb|Dutch playing billiards in Dejima, {{circa|19th century}}]]
* [[Photography]], first lessons in photography given to Japanese in 1856 by the physician of the island, J. K. van den Broek.
* [[Badminton]], a sport originated in India, was introduced by the Dutch during the 18th century; it is mentioned in the ''Sayings of the Dutch''.
* [[Glossary of cue sports terms#billiard|Billiards]] were introduced in Japan on Dejima in 1764; it is noted as {{Nihongo|"Ball striking table"|玉突の場}} in the paintings of {{Nihongo|[[Kawahara Keiga]]|川原慶賀}}.
* [[Beer]] seems to have been introduced as imports during the period of isolation. The Dutch governor [[Hendrik Doeff|Doeff]] made his own beer in Nagasaki, following the disruption of trade during the [[Napoleonic Wars]]. Local production of beer started in Japan in 1880.
* [[Clover]] was introduced in Japan by the Dutch as packing material for fragile cargo. The Japanese called it {{Nihongo|"white packing herb"|シロツメクサ}}, in reference to its white flowers.
* [[Coffee]] was introduced in Japan by the Dutch under the name ''moka'' and ''koffie''. The latter name appears in 18th-century Japanese books. Siebold refers to Japanese coffee amateurs in Nagasaki around 1823.
* Japan's oldest [[piano]] was introduced by Siebold in 1823, and later given to a tradesperson in the name of {{Nihongo|Kumaya|熊谷}}. The piano is today on display in the {{Nihongo|[[Kumaya Art Museum]]|熊谷美術館}}, [[Hagi, Yamaguchi|Hagi City]].
* [[Paint]] (tar), used for ships, was introduced by the Dutch. The original Dutch name ({{lang|nl|pek}}) was also adopted in Japanese, {{Nihongo||ペンキ|Penki}}.
* [[Cabbage]] and [[tomato]]es were introduced in the 17th century by the Dutch.
* [[Chocolate]] was introduced between 1789 and 1801; it is mentioned as a drink in the pleasure houses of Maruyama.<ref name="Love and the Dutch">{{cite journal |last1=Breuker |first1=Remco |last2=Penny |first2=Benjamin |title=Forgotten Foibles: Love and the Dutch at Dejima (1641–1854) |website=www.eastasianhistory.org |date=December 2014 |volume=39 |page=150 |url=https://www.eastasianhistory.org/sites/default/files/article-content/39/pdfs/EAH39-Vos-ForgottenFoibles.pdf |access-date=17 March 2025 |archive-date=1 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230101121803/https://www.eastasianhistory.org/sites/default/files/article-content/39/pdfs/EAH39-Vos-ForgottenFoibles.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* A [[diving bell]] with air supply by a pump was bought from Hugh Morton & Co. at Leith Docks near Edinburgh in 1834.

==Nagasaki Naval Training Center==
[[File:NagasakiNavalTrainingCenter.jpg|thumb|right|The Nagasaki Training Center, in [[Nagasaki, Nagasaki|Nagasaki]], next to Dejima (in the background)]]

Following the forced opening of Japan by US Navy [[Matthew Perry (naval officer)|Commodore Perry]] in 1854, the [[Bakufu]] suddenly increased its interactions with Dejima in an effort to build up knowledge of Western shipping methods. The {{Nihongo|[[Nagasaki Naval Training Center]]|長崎海軍伝習所|Nagasaki Kaigun Denshūsho}}, a naval training institute, was established in 1855 by the government of the ''[[shōgun]]'' at the entrance of Dejima, to enable maximum interaction with Dutch naval know-how. The center was equipped with Japan's first steamship, the ''[[Kankō Maru]]'', given by the government of the Netherlands the same year. The future Admiral [[Enomoto Takeaki]] was one of the students of the Training Center.{{Citation needed|date=November 2023}}

==Reconstruction==
[[File:C1870`s Nagasaki Dejima Island.png|thumb|A photo of Dejima Island, {{circa|1870}}]]
The [[Dutch East India Company]]'s trading post at Dejima was abolished when Japan concluded the [[Treaty of Kanagawa]] with the United States in 1858. This ended Dejima's role as Japan's only window on the Western world during the era of [[Sakoku|national isolation]]. Since then, the island was expanded by [[reclaimed land]] and merged into Nagasaki. Extensive redesigning of Nagasaki Harbor in 1904 obscured its original location.<ref name="ETM47">Edo-Tokyo Museum exhibition catalog, p. 47.</ref> The original footprint of Dejima Island has been marked by rivets; but as restoration progresses, the [[wikt:ambit|ambit]] of the island will be easier to see at a glance.
[[File:Edo-era Dejima within modern Nagasaki.jpg|thumb|right|Edo-era boundaries of Dejima island (outlined in red) within the modern city of Nagasaki]]

Dejima today is a work in progress. The island was designated a national historic site in 1922, but further steps were slow to follow. Restoration work was started in 1953, but that project languished.<ref name="ETM47"/> In 1996, restoration of Dejima began with plans for reconstructing 25 buildings in their early 19th-century state. To better display Dejima's fan-shaped form, the project anticipated rebuilding only parts of the surrounding embankment wall that had once enclosed the island. Buildings that remained from the [[Meiji period]] were to be used.

In 2000, five buildings, including the Deputy Factor's Quarters, were completed and opened to the public. In the spring of 2006, the finishing touches were put on the Chief Factor's Residence, the Japanese Officials' Office, the Head Clerk's Quarters, the No. 3 Warehouse, and the Sea Gate. In total, some ten buildings throughout the area have been restored.

In 2017, six new buildings, as well as the Omotemon Bridge (the old bridge to the mainland), were restored. The bridge was officially opened in attendance of members of the Japanese and Dutch royal families.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://hollandkyushu.com/en/project/opening-ceremony-omotemon-bashi-bridge/|title=Opening ceremony Omotemon-bashi Bridge|website=hollandkyushu.com|language=en-US|access-date=2018-01-25|archive-date=2018-01-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180125134700/https://hollandkyushu.com/en/project/opening-ceremony-omotemon-bashi-bridge/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Long-term planning intends that Dejima will again be surrounded by water on all four sides; its characteristic fan-shaped form and all of its embankment walls will be fully restored. This long-term plan will include large-scale urban redevelopment in the area. To make Dejima an island again will require rerouting the Nakashima River and moving a part of Route 499.

==Chronology==
* 1550: Portuguese ships visit [[Hirado]].
* 1561: Following the murder of foreigners in the area of the Hirado clan, the Portuguese began to look for other ports to trade.
* 1570: Christian ''daimyō'' [[Ōmura Sumitada]] make a deal with the Portuguese to develop [[Nagasaki]], six town blocks are built.
* 1571: Nagasaki Harbor is opened for trade, the first Portuguese ships enter.
* 1580: [[Ōmura Sumitada]] cedes jurisdiction over Nagasaki and Mogi to the [[Society of Jesus|Jesuits]].
* 1588: [[Toyotomi Hideyoshi]] exerts direct control over Nagasaki, Mogi, and Urakami from the Jesuits.
* 1609: The [[Dutch East India Company]] opens a factory in Hirado. It closes in 1641 when it is moved to Dejima.
* 1612: Japan's feudal government decrees that Christian proselytizing on Bakufu lands is forbidden.
* 1616: All trade with foreigners except that with China is confined to Hirado and Nagasaki.
* 1634: The construction of Dejima begins.
* 1636: Dejima is completed; the Portuguese are interned on Dejima ([[Closed Country Edict of 1635|Fourth National Isolation Edict]]).
* 1638: [[Shimabara Rebellion]] of Christian peasants is repressed with Dutch support, [[Kakure Kirishitan|Christianity in Japan is repressed]].
* 1639: Portuguese ships are prohibited from entering Japan. Consequently, the Portuguese are banished from Dejima.
* 1641: The Dutch East India Company Trading Post in Hirado is moved to Nagasaki.
* 1649: German surgeon [[Caspar Schamberger]] comes to Japan. Beginning of a lasting interest in Western style medicine.
* 1662: A shop is opened on Dejima to sell [[Imari porcelain]].
* 1673: The English ship ''Return'' enters Nagasaki, but the shogunate refuses its request for trade.
* 1678: A bridge connecting Dejima with the shore is replaced with a stone bridge.
* 1690: German physician [[Engelbert Kaempfer]] comes to Dejima.
* 1696: Warehouses for secondary cargo reach completion on Dejima.
* 1698: The Nagasaki Kaisho (trade association) is founded.
* 1699: The Sea Gate is built at Dejima.
* 1707: Water pipes are installed on Dejima.
* 1775: [[Carl Thunberg]] starts his term as physician on Dejima.
* 1779: Surgeon [[Isaac Titsingh]] arrives for his first tour of duty as ''"[[Opperhoofd]]".''
* 1798: Many buildings, including the Chief Factor's Residence, are destroyed by the Great ''Kansei'' Fire of Dejima.
* 1804: Russian Ambassador [[Nikolai Rezanov]] visits Nagasaki to request an exchange of trade between Japan and Imperial Russia.
* 1808: The [[Phaeton Incident|''Phaeton'' Incident]] occurs.
* 1823: German physician [[Philipp Franz von Siebold]] posted to Dejima.

==Trading post chiefs (''Opperhoofden'')==
{{main|VOC opperhoofden in Japan}}
''[[Opperhoofd]]'' is a Dutch word (plural ''opperhoofden'') which literally means 'supreme head'. The Japanese used to call the trading post chiefs ''kapitan'' which is derived from [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] ''capitão'' (cf. Latin ''caput'', head). In its historical usage, the word is a [[gubernatorial]] title, comparable to the English [[Chief factor]], for the chief executive officer of a Dutch ''factory'' in the sense of trading post, as led by a Factor, i.e. agent.

===Notable ''opperhoofden'' at Hirado===
* [[François Caron]]: 03.02.1639 – 13.02.1641 [''Caron was last ''Opperhoofd'' at Hirado.'']

===Notable ''opperhoofden'' at Dejima===
* [[François Caron]]: 03.02.1639 – 13.02.1641 [''Caron was the first ''Opperhoofd'' in Dejima following the forced move from Hirado.'']
* [[Zacharias Wagenaer]] [Wagener]: 01.11.1656 – 27.10.1657
* [[Zacharias Wagenaer]] [Wagener]: 22.10.1658 – 04.11.1659
* [[Andreas Cleyer]] [Andries]: 20.10.1682 -08.11.1683
* [[Andreas Cleyer]]: 17.10.1685 – 05.11.1686
* [[Hendrik Godfried Duurkoop]]: 23.11.1776 – 11.11.1777
* [[Isaac Titsingh]]: 29.11.1779 – 05.11.1780
* [[Isaac Titsingh]]: 24.11.1781 – 26.10.1783
* [[Isaac Titsingh]]: _.08.1784 – 30.11.1784
* [[Hendrik Doeff]]: 14.11.1803 – 06.12.1817
* [[Jan Cock Blomhoff]]: 06.12.1817 – 20.11.1823
* [[Janus Henricus Donker Curtius]]: 02.11.1852 – 28.02.1860

==Gallery==
<gallery widths="180px" heights="120px">
File:Dutchmen with Courtesans Nagasaki c1800.jpg|''Dutchmen with Keiseis'' (Courtesans), Nagasaki, ca. 1800
File:HendrikDoeffJapan.jpg|[[Hendrik Doeff]] and a Balinese servant in Dejima, Japanese painting, ca. early 19th century
File:Nagasaki Dejima C1821.jpg|A monument erected in Dejima by [[Philipp Franz von Siebold|Siebold]] to honor Kaempfer and Thunberg
File:Dejima-scale-model.jpg|A scale model of a Dutch trading post on display in Dejima (1995)
</gallery>

==See also==
* [[Dutch missions to Edo]]
* [[Japan–Netherlands relations]]
* [[Nanban trade]]
* [[List of Jesuit sites]]
* [[Sakoku]]
* ''[[The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet]]'' – Historical novel set in Dejima
* [[Nagasaki foreign settlement]]
* [[Thirteen Factories]], a former area of [[Guangzhou]], China, where the first foreign trade was allowed in the 18th century since the ''[[hai jin]]'' (海禁) ban on maritime activities.
* [[Baan Hollanda]] – Site of former Dutch settlement in [[Ayutthaya Kingdom|Ayutthaya]] ([[Thailand]]), now a museum
* ''[[Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. 2nd GIG]]'' – Much of the action centers on refugees who are settled on the island and eventually try to declare independence
* [https://geheugen.delpher.nl/en/geheugen/view?coll=ngvn&identifier=KONB16%3A452323282 Nagasaki saikenzu]. Hayashi Jiza'emon, publisher. 1830.

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* Blomhoff, J. C. (2000). ''The Court Journey to the Shogun of Japan: From a Private Account by Jan Cock Blomhoff''. Amsterdam
* Blussé, L. ''et al.'', eds. (1995–2001) ''The Deshima {{sic}} Dagregisters: Their Original Tables of Content''. Leiden.
* Blussé, L. ''et al.'', eds. (2004). ''The Deshima Diaries Marginalia 1740–1800.'' Tokyo.
* Boxer. C. R. (1950). ''Jan Compagnie in Japan, 1600–1850: An Essay on the Cultural, Artistic, and Scientific Influence Exercised by the Hollanders in Japan from the Seventeenth to the Nineteenth Centuries''. Den Haag.
* [[François Caron|Caron]], François. (1671). ''A True Description of the Mighty Kingdoms of Japan and Siam''. London.
* [[Hendrik Doeff|Doeff]], Hendrik. (1633). ''Herinneringen uit Japan''. Amsterdam. [Doeff, H. "Recollections of Japan" ({{ISBN|1-55395-849-7}})]
* [[Edo-Tokyo Museum]] exhibition catalog. (2000). ''A Very Unique Collection of Historical Significance: The Kapitan (the Dutch Chief) Collection from the Edo Period—The Dutch Fascination with Japan''. Catalog of "400th Anniversary Exhibition Regarding Relations between Japan and the Netherlands", a joint project of the Edo-Tokyo Museum, the [[Nagasaki, Nagasaki|City of Nagasaki]], the [[National Museum of Ethnology (Japan)|National Museum of Ethnology]], the [[Naturalis|National Natuurhistorisch Museum]] and the [[National Herbarium of the Netherlands]] in [[Leiden]], [[Netherlands]]. Tokyo.
* Leguin, F. (2002). ''Isaac Titsingh (1745–1812): Een passie voor Japan, leven en werk van de grondlegger van de Europese Japanologie''. Leiden.
* Mitchell, David (2010). ''The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet''. London.
* ''Nederland's Patriciaat'', Vol. 13 (1923). Den Haag.
* [[Timon Screech|Screech]], Timon. (2006). ''Secret Memoirs of the Shoguns: Isaac Titsingh and Japan, 1779–1822''. London: [[RoutledgeCurzon]]. {{ISBN|0-7007-1720-X}}
* [[Philipp Franz von Siebold|Siebold]], P.F.v. (1897). ''Nippon.'' Würzburg / Leipzig.[http://www.unterstein.net/Toyoashihara-no-Chiaki-Nagaioaki-no-Mitsuho-no-Kuni/SieboldNippon.pdf Click link for full text in modern German]
* [[Isaac Titsingh|Titsingh]], I. (1820). ''Mémoires et Anecdotes sur la Dynastie régnante des Djogouns, Souverains du Japon''. Paris: Nepveau.
* Titsingh, I. (1822). ''Illustrations of Japan; consisting of Private Memoirs and Anecdotes of the reigning dynasty of The Djogouns, or Sovereigns of Japan''. London: Ackerman.

== External links ==
*[https://nagasakidejima.jp/ Dejima official website](Japanese & English)
* [http://wolfgangmichel.web.fc2.com/serv/histmed/dejimasurgeons.htm Trading-post chiefs, surgeons, physicians and other employees at the VOC factories Hirado and Dejima]{{dead link|date=April 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
* [[Hendrick Hamel]] in Japan: [http://Hendrick-Hamel.henny-savenije.pe.kr/henny/Deshima.htm Deshima, layout and building placement] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161112085610/http://hendrick-hamel.henny-savenije.pe.kr/henny/Deshima.htm |date=2016-11-12 }}
* [http://www.worldstatesmen.org/Japan.htm#Dejima WorldStatesmen – Japan]
* [[New York Public Library]] Digital Gallery: [[Engelbert Kaempfer]]'s map of Nagasaki harbor, 1727 [http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/id?481279 Deshima location]{{Dead link|date=June 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

{{Portuguese overseas empire}}
{{Dutch colonies|East India|Kingdom1}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Coord|32.74352|129.87302|region:JP_type:isle|display=title}}

[[Category:Artificial islands of Japan]]
[[Category:Dutch East India Company]]
[[Category:Maritime history of the Dutch East India Company]]
[[Category:Former trading posts of the Dutch East India Company]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures associated with the Dutch East India Company]]
[[Category:Edo period]]
[[Category:History of Nagasaki]]
[[Category:1641 establishments in Japan]]

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