1801 BAIKO-DO. - A bird's-eye view of Nagasaki harbor, with Deshima and some Dutch ships

The oldest of these so-called Nagasaki pictures (Nagasaki-zu) were two panoramic prints by the artist Chikujuken that served as guides to the city of Nagasaki for visitors, who took them home as stylish souvenirs. 

They were such a useful guide for finding foreign trading stations and the anchorages of Dutch and Chinese vessels that they continued for many years.

The influence of this type of panorama print can be seen in the Yokohama pictures of the mid-nineteenth century and in the bird's-eye perspectives of such pictures as A Comprehensive View of Yokosuka that were still being published after the Meiji Restoration of 1868. A bird's-eye view of Nagasaki harbor. The Dutch V.O.C. trading post on Dejima is clearly marked with the Dutch flag.

Nagasaki was the port city of the Hizen Province (now Nagasaki Prefecture), and after 1570 began to prosper from trade with Portugal. The government imposed a policy of seclusion on Japan in the early 17th century, and Nagasaki became the only port open to foreign trade. All the Dutch traders moved their commercial houses there in 1641.

The piece of fan-shaped land that juts out into Nagasaki Bay, attached to the shore by a bridge, is the island of Dejima. It was constructed in 1634 and was the first home of the Portuguese, later the Dutch traders. Below Dejima on the left, in the rectangular artificial islands, were the warehouses of the Chinese merchants. 

The map shows much activity of the foreign ships. In the bay are anchored Dutch ships and Chinese Junks. One Dutch ship, under tow by lines of tugboats, is firing its cannons in greeting.

Throughout the Edo period, Nagasaki, along with Kyoto, Osaka, and Edo, was the scene of a flourishing publishing business in woodblock prints. Maps of Nagasaki were first published in the 1670s and from the 1770s on, they came out in a constant stream.

Due to the Dutch presence in Nagasaki, Japan learned many aspects of the scientific and technological revolution occurring in Europe at that time, helping the country build up the beginnings of a theoretical and technical scientific base, which helps to explain Japan's success in its radical and speedy modernization following the opening of the country to foreign trade in 1854.

Rangaku, literally "Dutch Learning", and by extension, "Western learning") is a body of knowledge developed by Japan through its contacts with the Dutch enclave of Dejima.

With its original cover, including distance tables to main places from Nagasaki.
Upper part from right to left: Kyoto 210ri, Edo 332ri, Osaka 197ri, Shimonoseki 59ri, Bungo Hita 46ri, Higo-Kumamoto 39ri, Satsuma-Kagoshima 65ri, Hiuga-Satohara 71ri. Lower part: Hizen-Saga 29ri, Chikuzen-Fukuoka 50ri, Hirado 32ri, Karatsu 32ri, Kurume 36ri, Yanagawa 32ri, Shimabara 16ri and Omura 10ri. 1ri = 4km.

• More items relating to the Dutch in Japan and Rangaku

Reference: Kyoto-koten-dokokai Kohan-Nagasaki-Chizu-shu 14.