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Why Were The Dutch Allowed In Japan?

NetherLore Studio

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Why were the Dutch allowed to enter Japan when most Europeans were banned?

For centuries, Japan followed a strict policy of limited foreign contact during the Edo period. Yet one European nation was given a unique exception: the Dutch. While other Europeans were expelled or prohibited from trading with Japan, Dutch merchants were allowed to maintain a presence at Dejima in Nagasaki.

In this video, we explore the fascinating history behind why the Dutch were allowed in Japan, how the Dutch East India Company (VOC) gained access to Japanese markets, and why Japan trusted the Dutch more than other European powers.

We’ll look at the role of Dejima, Dutch trade with Japan, the Tokugawa shogunate, Christianity, Portuguese and Spanish influence, Japanese isolation (sakoku), and Rangaku (Dutch learning). We’ll also examine how Dutch books, technology, medicine, science, and knowledge influenced Japan during a period when foreign contact was heavily restricted.

How did the Dutch survive Japan’s strict foreign policies? Why were the Portuguese expelled while the Dutch remained? And what did Japan gain from its relationship with the Netherlands?

Watch until the end to discover the surprising reasons behind one of the most unusual relationships in early modern world history.

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20 Comments

@Mrrogerthurman 11 days ago

The answer is because the Dutch were good negotiators, they had many things the Japanese wanted such as medical know-how, and did not try to bully. The world's first bilingual dictionary was Dutch/Japanese.

@apga1998 6 days ago

Dejima island is still present and you can walk across the bridge to visit it. The old warehouses have been restored. The city has grown up around the island so it is no longer the remote outpost in Nagasaki Bay. It’s worth a visit.

@TMTFT 9 days ago

As a Dutch person I can say/confirm it was basically our pragmatism that got us into that postion, but then we became like that because we always have been a trade oriented culture. One thing many people overlook (at least, in my opinion) is that the Japanese also still respect us to this day because we never (really) abused the monopoly we had on Japanese trade. Truth be told, we probably also did that because of pragmatism, don't get too greedy and spoil the goose with the golden eggs ;)

Anyways, the respect we still get from the Japanese for our special shared history does make me proud as Japanese history has always intrigued me and I have a lot of respect for Japanese culture (however I'm also still impressed by how brutal Japanese culture could be in the 'samurai era'.)

@pacificostudios 2 weeks ago

More people should realize that the USA ironically dropped an A-Bomb on the greatest concentration of Catholics in Japan. A large church stood so close to the explosion that it was destroyed, creating a vision of what the USA would look like after a nuclear war.

@Thomson023 2 weeks ago

This is pretty good researched AI, I thought I knew a lot about the Dutch in Japan, about Decima and such, but today, I learned about the siege at the Hara castle during the Shimbara rebellion. I had to look it up and to my surprise it really happened.
I conclude that this AI slop is well made and therefore believable.

@maverickfoxbm3 2 weeks ago

In a Southern region of Japan near Nagasaki and Sasebo there’s an old Dutch Trading Post. It’s a museum and the old Dutch building is still there and William Adams burial site is there.

@PeterJarre 11 days ago

Excellent video that illuminates an obscure history. The Dutch also colonized Taiwan before the Chinese and were only expelled at the end of the Ming Dynasty.

@YouHaventSeenMeRight 9 days ago

One detail to keep in mind, the VOC went bankrupt in 1799, so the trade between 1799 and 1854 was no longer done by the VOC, but by the Dutch Government (who acquired the VOC assets after it's bankruptcy), with American ships hired to do the trade under Dutch flags during the French occupation of The Netherland between 1800 and 1813.

@jensguld7271 2 weeks ago

Because when the Japanese asked the Dutch if they were Christians, the Dutch answared truthfully that they were Dutch.

@YouHaventSeenMeRight 9 days ago

Small correction: The Netherlands in this era, as it still has today (though we are now mostly agnostic/atheistic) had both Catholic and Protestant regions. It's just that the VOC didn't care for anything but profit. It is true that they had their headquarters in Amsterdam, which was in a Protestant region, but anyone was able to invest into the VOC as it was the first publicly traded company in the world.

@Руссофобзатевающийрусофобию 2 weeks ago

Эти проповедники которые думали что они делают доброе дело на самом деле делали плохое дело.

@peterhansmuijzenbergvanden5956 1 day ago

OK, this is quite good. It misses the important details, because those are too obvious, but other than that, it's worth watching.

@gordonbryce 2 weeks ago

I liked your presentation, it was well balanced.

@eloquentia52 4 days ago

17:30 - 17:40 Not 'Hofrace' but 'Hofreis' (Dutch) = journey (reis) to the Court (Hof) of the Shogun in Edo (Tokyo) from Dejima (and back). 'Edo Sampu' (Japanese) = Paying respect at Edo. The Hofreis was mandatory for the Dutch and took place once a year (in later years reduced to once in four years). It strengthened the relationship and contributed to mutual understanding and respect.

@TheGijzzz 2 weeks ago

Yep we Dutch have had trade relations for centuries. The succes was because we Dutch separated the church from trade. We still respect the Japanese and our king and the Japanese emperor have visited recently.

@Guguwe-j9v 2 weeks ago

Tokugawa Ieyasu was initially sympathetic toward Spain and Portugal, but he began to harbor doubts after meeting William Adams and learning about the situation in South America.
So, when Ieyasu had William Adams present at a meeting between himself and the Spanish missionaries, the Spaniards recommended that Adams be executed.
This confirmed Ieyasu’s suspicions about the Catholic missionaries.

@noodleswaprut4851 2 weeks ago

Fun fact dutch here, we learned here that full invasion on japan was to costly to be profitable, mostly because Japan was an warrior country to raise amry against that was to costly. But japan had something we needed a lot for our south east indi company silver. And sliver was trade wear used as nowadays coins

@ksmsepk607 2 weeks ago

15、6世紀の日本とカトリック教国の対立は徳川幕府より前の豊臣秀吉の時代に秀吉がカトリックによる日本人人身売買を問題視した為、
というのが近年日本でよく話されている説です。
ただ、戦国時代の日本では日本国内での人身売買は日常的にあったようなので
秀吉がカトリックを嫌ったのは日本人奴隷の流出を国富の流出ととらえたからかも知れません。

@anangwisnu1519 2 weeks ago

The Dutch did the same thing in Java and Nusantara Archipelago. The VOC didn't allow catholic missionaries even in their protectorate regions. They sent the missionaries to eastern region such as Ambon/ Maluku and Timor island.