Dutch missions to Edo
Encyclopedia
The Dutch East India Company
missions to Edo were regular tribute
missions to the court of the Tokugawa
Shogun
in Edo
(modern Tokyo
) 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 Shogun:clocks, telescopes, medicines, artillery and rare animals were usual gifts of the tribute missions. The Shogun would correspond at the same time with gifts to the Dutch. The tribute system as in China
, served to enhance the idea of the Shogun's supremacy to his subjects.
Dutch East India Company
The Dutch East India Company was a chartered company established in 1602, when the States-General of the Netherlands granted it a 21-year monopoly to carry out colonial activities in Asia...
missions to Edo were regular tribute
Tribute
A tribute is wealth, often in kind, that one party gives to another as a sign of respect or, as was often the case in historical contexts, of submission or allegiance. Various ancient states, which could be called suzerains, exacted tribute from areas they had conquered or threatened to conquer...
missions to the court of the Tokugawa
Tokugawa
Tokugawa may refer to:*Tokugawa clan, a powerful family of Japan**Tokugawa Ieyasu, the most notable member of the Tokugawa clan and founder of its shogunate*Tokugawa shogunate, a feudal regime of Japan...
Shogun
Shogun
A was one of the hereditary military dictators of Japan from 1192 to 1867. In this period, the shoguns, or their shikken regents , were the de facto rulers of Japan though they were nominally appointed by the emperor...
in Edo
Edo
, also romanized as Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of the Japanese capital Tokyo, and was the seat of power for the Tokugawa shogunate which ruled Japan from 1603 to 1868...
(modern Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
) to reassure the ties between the Bakufu and the Opperhoofd. The Opperhoofd of the Dutch factory in Dejima
Dejima
was a small fan-shaped artificial island built in the bay of Nagasaki in 1634. This island, which was formed by digging a canal through a small peninsula, remained as the single place of direct trade and exchange between Japan and the outside world during the Edo period. Dejima was built to...
and his attendants were escorted by the Japanese to Edo where they presented exotic and elaborate gifts to the Shogun:clocks, telescopes, medicines, artillery and rare animals were usual gifts of the tribute missions. The Shogun would correspond at the same time with gifts to the Dutch. The tribute system as in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, served to enhance the idea of the Shogun's supremacy to his subjects.
See also
- Japan–Netherlands relationsJapan–Netherlands relationsJapanese–Dutch relations describes the foreign relations between Japan and the Netherlands. Relations between Japan and the Netherlands date back to 1609, when the first formal trade relations were established.-History:...
- VOC Opperhoofden in JapanVOC Opperhoofden in JapanVOC Opperhoofden in Japan were the chief traders of the Dutch East India Company in Japan during the period of the Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the Edo period.Opperhoofd is a Dutch word which literally means 'supreme head[man]'...
- Tributary stateTributary stateThe term tributary state refers to one of the two main ways in which a pre-modern state might be subordinate to a more powerful neighbour. The heart of the relationship was that the tributary would send a regular token of submission to the superior power...