For over two centuries during Japan's sakoku period of national seclusion (1641–1853), Dejima — a tiny fan-shaped artificial island in Nagasaki Harbour — was the sole point of contact between Japan and the Western world, with Dutch East India Company merchants confined to its boundaries. The island has been extensively reconstructed since 1996, with 25 period buildings now restored including warehouses, the captain's quarters, and a Japanese guard house. Interactive exhibits detail how Western science, medicine, botany, and art filtered into Japan exclusively through this remarkable island, making it a uniquely compelling site in world history.
- Type
- Venue
- Category
- Culture
- Season
- Year-round
- Month
- Year-round
- Region
- Kyushu
- Prefecture
- Nagasaki
- City
- Nagasaki
Highlights
- ◆Japan's only open trading post to the West for over 200 years
- ◆25 reconstructed Edo-era Dutch and Japanese buildings
- ◆Exhibits on 'Rangaku' — Western learning via the Dutch
- ◆Original 1820s foundation stones visible beneath glass floors
- ◆Connected to Nagasaki's Chinatown and harbour waterfront