Dutch-Japanese relations have a long and interesting history, shaped by commerce, trade, and war. Below are some interesting artifacts marking the 400 years that the Netherlands and Japan share. Japan, for most of its history, was a relatively isolated country. Whoever dared to invade had to put up with a civilization that would not give in easily. First, the Japanese made contact with Europeans through the Portuguese, but their relationship with the Dutch proved to be the enduring one shortly afterward.

From the beginning of relations between Japan and the Netherlands, the VOC would bring maps to Japan to be gifted to the Shogun and his court. We saw how in 1635, the Governor of Nagasaki gained information on a special map illustrating military affairs. A general demand for up-to-date maps of the world and globes was always there.

In the early stages of Dutch-Japanese relations, VOC officials in Asia took note of the Japanese interest in maps. They had regular requests for these from the Netherlands. Some requests for Dutch wall maps are documented in the archives. In 1637, the governor-general in Batavia asked for six world maps. He wanted to use them as diplomatic gifts in the fortress town of Golconda (India) and Japan.

Interesting reading : Dutch impressions of the world in Japan, by MIYOSHI Tadayoshi

  Gifts
In Japanese diplomacy, gifts had a greater meaning than merely creating receptiveness in the opposing party. Gifts were not bribes; they were an indicator of willingness to negotiate. Drawing on their Indian Ocean trading networks, the Dutch sporadically brought extravagantly large and exotic animal gifts throughout the Edo period, including two tiger cubs (1614), an ostrich (1658), elephants (1813, actually brought by the British)46 and camels (1646, 1821). Some of these large animal gifts were accepted like the ostrich, which was received with great pleasure by Shogun Ietsuna (1641–1680), and some, like a pair of camels brought in 1821, were refused and ended up living out their lives in Japan as a source of income for the Dutch factory head's courtesan, who reputedly made a fortune by charging an admission fee to see them.

jacquard
In 1872, Kyoto Prefecture dispatched 3 weavers, including SAKURA Tsuneshichi (1835-1899), to Lyon, and had them bring back new machinery, including jacquards and battants. In 1877, 8 exchange students, including KONDO Tokutaro (1856-1920), were dispatched to France to study textiles, dyeing and other subjects, headed by Léon Dury (1822-1891), a Frenchman who had worked as an instructor at the French College of Kyoto, etc.

Winemaking
After the Meiji Restoration, from the perspective of providing an alternative to brewer's rice, which was in short supply at the time, and of providing employment for the Samurai who had returned to farming, winemaking began as a national enterprise. FUKUBA Hayato (1856-1921), was born as the child of a retainer of the Tsuwano Domain and studied at the Products Research Institute of Agriculture Encouragement Bureau of the Ministry of Home Affairs, etc.


Cosmetics
ITO Sakae (the first, 1847-1911) was the 4th son of Ranpoi (a person who studied Western medicine by means of the Dutch language), ITO Genboku (1800-1871), who studied under Heinrich Philipp von Siebold (1796-1866) and worked to ensure the propagation of immunization. He studied abroad in France through the Yokosuka Shipyards, and became a weapons dealer. In 1904, when HASEBE Nobuhiko (1850-1924), who had also studied abroad in France and specialized in chemistry, succeeded in manufacturing lead-free powder, ITO cooperated in the product's commercialization and established Ito Kochoen.

In Japan, traditionally, face powder, which used lead as a raw material, was used, so there were a large number of people among women and kabuki actors who suffered from lead poisoning. In 1887 in particular, in a Kabuki played in the presence of the Emperor, held at the residence of Minister of Foreign Affairs INOUE Kaoru, NAKAMURA Fukusuke (Fukusuke IV of the Narikoma-ya school, later NAKAMURA Shikan V and NAKAMURA Utaemon V, 1866-1940), was unable to stop his body from shaking due to lead poisoning, and the poisonous nature of the lead became more widely known. Ito Kochoen's Misono Oshiroi was supported by kabuki actors and became a big hit. This book is written by 5th generation NAKAMURA Shikan to promote the sales of Misono Oshiroi.

In 1877, MAEDA Masana (1850-1921) returned from France after studying there as an exchange student since the first year of the Meiji Era, proposed the establishment of a government-operated nursery company, and the Mita Breeding Station was established. The breeding station collected both domestic and foreign grape breeds and researched the industrialization of winemaking. In Yamanashi Prefecture at the time, prefectural governor FUJIMURA Shiro (1845-1909) was already attempting the production of wine using the local specialty Koshu grapes, and winemaking was promoted as one part of the Increase Production and Promote Industry policy.