Epoch of the Namban trade
The epoch of the Namban trade ( Japanese 南蛮 貿易 時代 namban bōeki jidai , period of the southern barbarian trade) in Japanese history extends from the arrival of the first Iberian Europeans in Japan in 1543 to their final expulsion in 1639. It falls into the final phase of the Sengoku period , the Azuchi-Momoyama period and the early Edo period .
Word origin
Namban / Nanban ( 南蛮 'southern barbar ') is a term taken from Chinese for uncivilized peoples in the south. With the formation of the Japanese state, an ethnocentric view of the world arose in Japan too, which, like the Chinese model, postulates its own state as the geographical and cultural center of the world and assigned a collective name to the surrounding “barbaric” peoples corresponding to the cardinal point. In Japan the word took on a new meaning with the arrival of Europeans. In 1543, Portuguese merchants were sent to the southern island of Tanegashima on a junk that was in distress , where they gave the locals some rifles ( Tanegashima rifle ) as thanks for their help . This is considered to be the first direct encounter and at the same time the beginning of the history of firearms in Japan. With the landing of the Jesuit Francisco de Xavier , who reached Kagoshima in the south of Kyushu in August 1549, a continuous Euro-Japanese exchange began. The predominantly Portuguese missionaries of the Societas Jesu were followed by merchants, mostly from Macau , and later also Franciscans from the Philippines. From the Japanese point of view, the word namban was appropriate for these newcomers, as they came from the south and their manners, especially those of the seafarers, did not appear cultivated.
Cultural encounter
Japanese stories from Europeans
At first the Japanese were rather repulsed by the manners of the newcomers. A contemporary report describes the strangers as follows:
“They ate with their fingers instead of the chopsticks we use. They show their feelings without any self-control. They cannot understand the meaning of characters. "
Regardless of this, the technical achievements of the Iberians were appreciated. B. in the military field the arquebus and the cuirass , furthermore metallurgical processes, shipbuilding techniques and all kinds of objects of everyday life. The spread of Christianity also resulted in a considerable expansion in the Japanese vocabulary. Many foreigners were kindly received by Japanese rulers, and their skills were sometimes recognized to such a high degree that they were promoted to the rank of samurai (see William Adams , who was given a fiefdom on the Miura Peninsula , south of Edo ) .
European reports from Japan
Japan was considered a country blessed with precious metals, mainly because of Marco Polo's reports (" Il Milione ") of gold-plated temples and palaces. This turned out to be exaggerated after the Portuguese landed. However, there were in fact a large number of ore deposits which, because of the volcanic origin of the archipelago, were not too deep and were comparatively easy to mine. Some of the mines such as those of Iwami and Sado can be found on early Portuguese Japan maps. In the 16th and 17th centuries, Japan became an important exporter of gold, silver and copper and thus contributed significantly to the development of the global money economy.
Even the pioneer Francisco de Xavier wrote in his first letter from Japan (Kagoshima, Nov. 5, 1549) that the Japanese surpass all the peoples one has known so far. Three decades later, the visitor of the Societas Jesu Alessandro Valignano extended this to the Europeans. 17th century travelers to Japan such as George Meister and the eminent Engelbert Kaempfer had similar views . When the samurai Hasekura Tsunenaga visited Saint-Tropez in France in 1615 , his manners and demeanor were a sensation:
“They never touch the food with their fingers, but instead use two small chopsticks that they hold with three fingers. They blow their noses with soft, silky hand-sized paper that they never use twice and that they throw on the floor after use, and they were amazed that our people around them tried to excel at picking them up . Their swords cut so well that they can cut soft paper if you just put it on the edge and blow on it. "
The fighting strength and courage of Japanese samurai was also recognized: a Spanish royal decree of 1609 expressly ordered Spanish commanders in the Pacific " not to jeopardize the reputation of our weapons and our state against Japanese soldiers ". Troops of Japanese samurai were later used on the Spice Islands in Southeast Asia in the battle of the Dutch against the English.
trade
Soon after the first contacts, Portuguese ships landed in Kyushu, the westernmost main island. A trade route between Portugal and Goa had existed since around 1515 . Every year three to four silver carracks left Lisbon to buy cotton and spices in India . One of these carracks sailed to China to buy Chinese silk in exchange for Portuguese silver.
The cargo of the first Portuguese ships in Japan therefore consisted almost exclusively of Chinese goods (silk, porcelain , medicines). The Japanese demand was considerable, as the Chinese emperor had banned trade with Japan in retaliation for the frequent attacks by Japanese pirates ( wokou ). The Portuguese therefore seized the opportunity to act as middlemen.
After the acquisition of Macau in 1557 and its formal recognition as a trading partner by the Chinese, the Portuguese crown began to regulate trade in Japan by auctioning the annual "captaincy" to Japan to the highest bidder. This gave this one carrack that went to Japan every year, in principle, exclusive trading rights. At the time, these carracks were very large ships weighing between 1000 and 1500 tons; this was about twice or three times the size of a large galleon or junk .
This trade continued with a few interruptions until 1638. But then the rulers of the fledgling Tokugawa regime issued a ban on the grounds that the ships were smuggling Christian priests into the country. However, own commercial interests may have played an important role in this decision.
The lucrative Portuguese trade also grew increasingly competitive from Chinese smugglers , from the Japanese red-seal ships licensed by the Shogun (about ten ships per year, since about 1592), from Spanish ships from Manila (from about 1600, about one ship per year), the Dutch (from 1609), the English (from 1613, about one ship per year).
Arrival of the Dutch
The first Dutch were driven to the east coast of Kyushu in 1600 aboard the almost unmaneuverable ship " Liefde ". The ship's navigator was the Englishman William Adams , who, because of his knowledge of shipbuilding and nautical science, found the benevolence of Tokugawa Ieyasu and was naturalized by him as "Miura Anjin", which means " Navigator of the Miura Peninsula ". Tokugawa Ieyasu was the founder and first shogun of the Tokugawa dynasty . The Japanese referred to the Dutch as Kōmō-jin ( 紅毛 人 'redheads', 'redheads').
In 1605 two members of the crew of the ship "Liefde" were sent from Tokugawa to Pattani to invite Dutch traders to Japan. The head of the Dutch trading post Pattani, Victor Sprinckel, denied this request on the grounds that he was too busy with the Portuguese competition in Southeast Asia. In 1609, however, the Dutchman Jacques Specx arrived with two ships in Hirado in the northwest of the island of Kyushu and, thanks to Adam's mediation, obtained trading privileges from Tokugawa.
The Dutch engaged in piracy and naval warfare to weaken Portuguese and Spanish shipping in the Pacific. Furthermore, the Protestant Dutch were only interested in trade, while the Catholic Portuguese and Spaniards made themselves unpopular through their missionary activities in Japan. In the end, the Dutch were the only ones from the west who had access to Japan after 1638 and for the next two centuries via the small enclave on the island of Dejima .
Technological and cultural exchange
Namban rifles
Portuguese firearms were one of the many things that the Japanese were interested in. The first Europeans to reach Japan were three Portuguese, including Fernão Mendes Pinto , who were stranded on a Chinese ship on the island of Tanegashima, south of Kyushu . They had arquebuses and ammunition with them. At that time, Japan was in the middle of a long-running civil war, the Sengoku period . The Japanese were already familiar with the gunpowder , which was invented in China , and by this time they had been using simple Chinese handguns and cannon barrels , known as teppō ( 鉄 砲 literally 'iron cannon'), for around 270 years . However, the Portuguese rifles were lighter and more technically advanced. They had matchlocks and were easier to aim with.
Within a year, Japanese armourers succeeded in copying these rifles and mass-producing them as Tanegashima arquebuses ; According to historical sources, around 20,000 pieces were produced. These rifles were on a par with the prototypes in terms of their material quality and design, and often even better.
The rifles played a crucial role in the unification of Japan under Oda Nobunaga , Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu , as well as in the Battle of Nagashino and the Imjin War , the invasion of Korea in 1592 and 1597.
Namban ships
The southern barbarian ships were also quite influential in Japanese shipbuilding, stimulating many Japanese foreign ventures. The Bakufu established a system of licensed merchant ships (" Red Seal Ships ") that traveled East and Southeast Asia. These ships adopted many elements of Western ship design, such as sails, rudders at the stern and the placement of the cannons. They brought many Japanese traders and adventurers to Southeast Asian ports, which often became quite influential in local terms, such as: B. the adventurer Yamada Nagamasa in Siam , or they later became well-known Japanese folk characters such as Tenjiku Tokubei .
At the end of the 17th century, the Bakufu built several ships of purely western design, usually with the help of foreign experts, such as the galleon San Juan Bautista , which crossed the Pacific twice on embassies to New Spain (Mexico).
Catholicism in Japan
With the arrival of Francisco de Xavier y Jassu , one of the founders of the Societas Jesu and pioneer of the East India Mission, in 1549 the encounter between Japan and Christianity began. Especially in the south-western regions of the archipelago, Catholicism is increasingly developing into a religious force. According to the missionaries' letters, there were about 200,000 converts by the end of the 16th century , mostly on the island of Kyushu . Nagasaki , where the Jesuits had even gained jurisdiction , is gradually developing into an important base for the church.
The first reaction of the Kampaku Toyotomi Hideyoshi came in 1587 when he proclaimed the ban on Christianity and ordered the expulsion of the padres. This date is considered to be the beginning of the phase of suppression of Christianity. However, like most of the subsequent edicts, Hideyoshi's order was not implemented consistently. Until the southern barbarians were finally expelled in 1639, western missionaries continued to work in the country, albeit under increasingly difficult conditions.
Hideyoshi had written:
"1. Japan is a land of gods and it is a reprehensible and diabolical thing that the padres come here and preach a diabolical law ...
2. It is a previously unheard of event that the padres come to Japan and people convert to their beliefs and for this purpose destroy Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples ... inciting the mob to commit such atrocities deserves severe punishment. "
A cooperation with the Portuguese brought the warring regional princes (daimyo) important advantages. Those who were baptized could take part in the lucrative trade in Portuguese ships arriving from Makao every year. Silk, pharmaceuticals and many other essential imported goods made high profits, which made it possible to buy large quantities of arquebuses, which have now become the decisive weapon on the country's battlefields. At the same time, Christianity developed into an antipole against the strong Buddhist monasteries, which at that time set up their own armies of armed monks and represented a considerable power factor.
Other influences of the Namban
The Namban also had various other influences:
- Nambandō (南蛮 胴 ) denotes a Japanese cuirass that covers the entire trunk in one piece; This design, imported from Europe, offered better protection against firearms than the completely unsuitable traditional armor of the samurai .
- Nambambijutsu ( 南蛮 美術 ) describes Japanese art with Namban themes or western influences in the design.
- Nambanga ( 南蛮 画 ) denotes the numerous pictorial representations that were created by the new foreigners and defined a completely new style in Japanese art
- Nambannuri ( 南蛮 塗 り ) refers to lacquer objects that are decorated in a Portuguese style. These were very popular from the late 16th century.
- Namban-ryōri ( 南蛮 料理 ) refers to dishes that use ingredients introduced by the Portuguese and Spaniards such as Spanish pepper , winter onions , corn or pumpkin as well as methods of preparation such as deep-frying (e.g. tempura ).
- Nambangashi ( 南蛮 菓子 ) are sweets that come from Spain or Portugal, such as the popular Kasutera cake , named after Castile . These Namban cakes, often still with depictions of the barbarians of the 16th century on their packaging, are now sold in many Japanese supermarkets. Another sweet is Kompeitō , sugar confectionary that originally comes from Portugal.
- Nambanji ( 南蛮 寺 'South Barbarian Temple') was the first Christian church in Kyoto. With the support of Oda Nobunaga , the Jesuit Father Gnecchi-Soldo Organtino built the church in 1576. Eleven years later (1587) Hideyoshi Toyotomi Nambanji was destroyed. The bell is kept as Nambanji no kane ("Bell of the southern barbarian temple") in the Shunkoin temple in Kyoto.
- Namban-ryū geka ( 南蛮 流 外科 ), Japanese "surgery in the style of the southern barbarians", which had taken over some plasters and the use of palm oil, pork fat, tobacco etc. from the Portuguese. As a result of the increasingly severe persecution of Christians since the end of the 16th century, it remained at this level. In the middle of the 17th century, these western elements then flowed into the newly emerged surgery in the style of the redheads ( 紅毛 流 外科 kōmō-ryū geka ), d . H. the Dutch one.
- Namban-byōbu ( 南蛮 屏風 ), southern barbarian display screens , multi-part display screens on which two motifs dominate: (a) the arrival of a Portuguese ship and (b) the train of landed foreigners through the port city.
Linguistic traces
The intensive exchange with the “southern barbarians” did not remain without influence on the Japanese vocabulary. Some loan words have survived to this day: pan ( パ ン , from pão, bread), botan ( ボ タ ン , from botão, button), karuta ( カ ル タ , from cartas de jogar, playing cards), furasuko ( フ ラ ス コ , from frasco, flasko, bottle ), marumero ( マ ル メ ロ , from marmelo, quince) etc. Some words are only used today in scientific texts or in historical contexts. B. iruman ( イ ル マ ン , from irmão, brother in a Christian order), kapitan ( カ ピ タ ン , from capitão, head, leader), kirishitan ( キ リ シ タ ン , from christão, Christian, Christian), rasha ( ラ シ ャ , from raxa, type of cotton) shabon ( シ ャ ボ ン , from sabão, soap). Some things from the New World came to Japan along with their names via the Portuguese and Spaniards. B. tabako ( タ バ コ , from tabaco, an originally Indian word). Some terms that are now only known to experts did not become extinct until the 19th century: porutogaru-yu ( ポ ル ト ガ ル 油 , Portugal oil, i.e. olive oil), chinta ( チ ン タ , from vinho tinto, red wine), empurasuto ( エ ン プ ラ ス ト , from emprasto) , unguento ( ウ ン グ エ ン ト , from unguento, ointment).
From Japan to Europe
The Iberian missionaries and traders also brought some Japanese things and words to Europe. The word catana (Japanese katana ) is still used in Portuguese for the slightly curved swords . A blow with it is called a catanada . Japanese tea ( cha ) came to Portugal as chá , and when the Infanta Catherine of Braganza married the English King Charles II, it finally came to England. The folding screens called byōbu in Japanese found a new home on the Iberian Peninsula as biombo and from there came to Germany as the Spanish Wall . The Buddhist monks, called bōzu in Japanese , were dressed down as bonzos in the missionary scriptures to such an extent that the word bonze, which is naturalized in almost all western languages, still has a negative meaning. The first kimono was presented by the Japanese samurai Hasekura, who traveled to Rome via Mexico at the beginning of the 17th century.
The decline of the Namban exchange
After the country was pacified and united under Tokugawa Ieyasu in 1603 , the shogunate increasingly pursued a policy of isolation from the "southern barbarians". The main reason was that the daimyo of the southwest in particular benefited from long-distance trade, which the central government had already had difficulty controlling in previous epochs. Large profits made the purchase of rifles and thus a renewed use of arms possible. The Tokugawa shogunate wanted to prevent the newly unified empire from drifting apart again. In addition, the Shogunate had learned from William Adams and others about the colonial aspirations of the Spanish and Portuguese in America and Asia. The foreclosure was also intended as a measure to secure Japan's independence.
The third reason was the advancing Christianization , according to estimates, Japan was already one third Christianized, at least as far as the daimyo were concerned. Spanish and Portuguese Jesuits in particular had been very successful. In the civil war, Christianity was a welcome means of building an antipole to the strong Buddhist monasteries. In the meantime, however, the power of the monasteries had been broken by violence, and Buddhism, now firmly controlled by the shogunate, became a means of countering Christianity. Baptized Japanese had to renounce Christianity or were persecuted with draconian measures.
The most famous event of the persecution of Christians occurred in 1597 when a shipwrecked Spanish galleon brought some Franciscans to Japan. These were crucified during the so-called martyrdom of the 26 saints of Japan on February 5th in Nagasaki , a total of 6 Franciscans, 17 of their Japanese neophytes and (erroneously) 3 Japanese Jesuit lay brothers. It appears that Hideyoshi's decision followed encouragement from the Jesuits to eliminate the rival order. Reasons may also have been the Spanish boasting that Catholic proselytizing was usually followed by military conquest, as well as Hideyoshi's personal desire to appropriate the ship's cargo. Although more than a hundred churches in Japan were subsequently destroyed, the Jesuits stayed in Japan.
The decisive blow came in 1614 with Tokugawa Ieyasu's strict ban on Christianity, which led to underground activity by the Jesuits and their involvement in Toyotomi Hideyori's revolt at the siege of Osaka . After Tokugawa's death in 1616, the persecution of Christians intensified. Around 2,000 Christians (including 70 Europeans) were tortured and killed. The remaining 200,000–300,000 went underground.
The impetus for the final expulsion of the Iberians who remained in the country was given by the Shimabara uprising of the predominantly Christian rural population in the Amakusa - Shimabara area in western Kyushu in 1637. Triggered by economic problems, however, the fighting soon acquired strong religious features. The government troops were only able to bring down the rebels entrenched in the Hara fortress with great difficulty. The Dutch East India Company made its contribution and, at the request of the Japanese rulers, had the fortress bombarded. The obvious ineffectiveness of their ship cannons in fortress warfare triggered intensive Japanese studies in the following decades on the indirect bombardment of fortresses with mortars.
In 1639 all foreigners, with the exception of the Chinese and the Dutch, were expelled from the country. Shortly thereafter, the East India Company was forced to move its branch from Hirado to the artificial island of Dejima in Nagasaki Bay . The city and port were now under the direct control of the government. The Chinese, who initially operated relatively freely in Nagasaki, were also restricted to a branch set up especially for them in the second half of the century.
In Japanese historiography of the 20th century, the period that followed was referred to as the age of land closure ( sakoku ). In the meantime, however, the diverse contacts and trade relationships with foreign countries are also clearly recognized. A policy that was essentially xenophobic can only be spoken of in the 19th century, when Japan began to feel more and more threatened. Overall, the Edo period is considered an age of peace and slow progress. Japan was also never colonized. It was not until the middle of the 19th century, thanks to the industrial revolution, that the western barbarians had sufficient leverage to force the country to open up more. The most important event here is the arrival of American ships under Commodore Matthew Perry .
To use the word Namban
The term Namban only disappeared from everyday usage during the Meiji Restoration and was replaced by terms such as yōfu ( 洋 風 'ocean style') and Ōbeifu ( 欧米 風 'European-American style'). The recognition of the West's superiority, however, was limited to its technology. The concept of wakon-yōsai (Japanese spirit - western talent ) propagated by Sakuma Zōzan (1811–1864) persisted in many minds until well into the second half of the twentieth century. Today the word Namban is used in the romanticizing sense, especially by the souvenir and arts and crafts.
In Japanese cuisine , Namban refers to certain ingredients and dishes introduced from the Namban period as a synonym for corn or Spanish pepper , short for cayenne pepper (here short for 南蛮 辛 子 , Nambangarashi ) or Nambanni ( 南蛮 煮 ), a meat stew with winter onion .
Timeline
- 1543: Portuguese sailors (possibly including Fernão Mendes Pinto ) are sent to the southern island of Tanegashima . As a thank you for the help, some arquebuses end up in Japanese hands. The beginning of the history of firearms in Japan, which a few years later were copied by blacksmiths in Sakai.
- 1549: The co-founder of the Societas Jesu and missionary Francisco de Xavier y Jassu lands in Kagoshima and is warmly welcomed by the local royal family.
- 1555: Acquisition of Macau by Portugal, annual merchant ships to Japan.
- 1570: Japanese pirates occupy parts of the island of Taiwan , from where they attack China.
- 1575: The battle of Nagashino is decided by firearms.
- 1577: First Japanese ships travel to Cochin-China .
- 1579: The visitor of the Societas Jesu Alessandro Valignano arrives in Japan.
- 1580: The Christian daimyo Arima Harunobu leaves the small settlement of Nagasaki to the Jesuits . The bay, surrounded by mountains, offers Portuguese ships more protection from typhoons than previous ports.
- 1582: Four selected young men from a good family ( Ito Mancio , Julião Nakaura , Martinão Hara , Miguel Chijiwa ) set out on a legation trip to Europe, accompanied by Father Diego de Mesquita and the initiator Valignano.
- 1584: The embassy arrives in Lisbon . Valignano stayed behind in Goa.
- 1588: The Japanese general Toyotomi Hideyoshi forbids piracy.
- 1592: Hideyoshi begins invading Korea with 160,000 soldiers;
First mention of red seal ships , d. H. Ships that are allowed to sail with an official license to conduct long-distance trade. - 1597: 26 Christians (20 Japanese, 4 Spaniards, one Mexican and one Portuguese) are led through the country and crucified in Nagasaki ( martyrdom of the 26 saints of Japan ).
- 1600: The ship Liefde with the helmsman William Adams drives almost unable to maneuver in Ostkyushu.
With his victory in the Battle of Sekigahara , the general Tokugawa Ieyasu established himself as ruler of the entire archipelago.
Olivier van Noort encounters a Japanese junk weighing 110 tons in the Philippines in December - 1602: Dutch warships attack the Portuguese carrack Santa Catarina near Malacca .
- 1603: Official establishment of Tokugawa rule. Edo becomes the seat of the Shogun.
The English arrived at a trading post in Bantam , Java . - 1605: Two of William Adamss' shipmates are sent from Tokugawa Ieyasu to Pattani to invite Dutch traders.
- 1609: The Dutch open a trading post with Ieyasu's approval on Hirado Island in northwest Kyushu.
- 1612: Yamada Nagamasa settles in Ayutthaya in Siam .
- 1613: The Englishman Richard Cocks opens a trading post in Hirado;
Hasekura Tsunenaga embarks on a diplomatic mission to Europe via Mexico. He returns in 1620. - 1614: Expulsion of all Jesuits from Japan, ban on Christianity.
William Adams begins to engage in the red seal trade with Southeast Asia. - 1615: Japanese Jesuits begin missionary work in Indochina .
- 1616: Tokugawa Ieyasu dies .
- 1621: Jan Joosten operates 10 red seal ships.
- 1622: mass persecution of Christians in Japan; Death of Hasekura Tsunenaga .
- 1623: Cocks closes the Hirado factory due to inefficiency;
Yamada Nagamasa sails from Siam to Japan. He was accompanied by an ambassador from the Siamese King Songtham . He returns to Siam in 1626;
Ban on trade with the Spanish Philippines . - 1624: Diplomatic relations with Spain are broken off,
Japanese Jesuits begin missionary work in Siam. - 1628: Destruction of Takagi Sakuemon's red seal ship in Ayutthaya, Siam, by a Spanish fleet. Portuguese trade in Japan is banned for three years in retaliation.
- 1632: Tokugawa Hidetada dies.
- 1634: Yamada Yahei's journey from Japan to Indochina and Siam.
- 1637: Rebellion of the predominantly Christian rural population in the Shimabara / Amakusa area ( Shimabara rebellion ). Christian farmer.
- 1638: Final ban on trade with the Portuguese.
- 1638: Expulsion of the last southern barbarians from Nagasaki.
- 1641: The Dutch are forced to move their settlement from Hirado to Nagasaki on Dejima Island.
literature
- Noel Perrin, David R. Godine (Eds.): Giving Up the Gun. Boston, ISBN 0-87923-773-2 .
- Mitsuo Kure: Samurai. Tuttle publishing, Tokyo, ISBN 0-8048-3287-0 .
- Christopher Howe: The Origins of Japanese Trade Supremacy. Development and Technology in Asia from 1540 to the Pacific War. The University of Chicago Press, ISBN 0-226-35485-7 .
Web links
- Namban folding umbrellas
- Namban art (Japanese)
- Japanese art and Western influence (English)
- Shunkoin Temple - The Bell of Nambanji
- JAPAN IN EUROPE: A CHRONOLOGICAL BIBLIOGRAPHY OF WESTERN BOOKS AND MANUSCRIPTS - 16TH-19TH CENTURY
Individual evidence
- ↑ printed in the Cartas que os Padres e Irmaos da Companhia de Jesus escreverao dos Reynos de Iapao & China , Evora: 1598
- ↑ Historia del Principio y Progreso de la Compañía de Jesús en las Indias Orientales , 1584.
- ↑ Noel Perrin, David R. Godine (Eds.): Giving Up the Gun
- ↑ 南蛮 料理 . In: 日本 大 百科全書 at kotobank.jp. Retrieved August 12, 2015 (Japanese).
- ↑ 南蛮 . In: 大 辞 林 第三版 at kotobank.jp. Retrieved August 12, 2015 (Japanese).
- ↑ 南蛮 . In: 日本 大 百科全書 at kotobank.jp. Retrieved August 12, 2015 (Japanese).