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| The year 2000 marks the 400th anniversary since the first international exchange took placebetween the Netherlands and Japan. In 1600, a Dutch ship, the Reefude, was washed ashore on the coastal region named Bingo (now Oita Prefecture), and this opened the way for commercial and cultural exchange between Japan and the Netherlands. In 1609, two Dutch trading ships visited Japan, and Ieyasu, the first Tokugawa shogun, authorized the establishment of a trading firm in Hirado by the Dutch merchants. Thirty years later, the Edo Shogunate enforced the policy of national isolation and prohibited international trade with the exception of Hirado in Nagasaki, and with the ships of the Dutch East India Company and the Chinese Shin sen. The trading details of the Dutch ships during the isolation can be found in the Nagasaki Trading Firm Diary, the Nagasaki Trading Firm Journal, or in the annual report submitted to the 17-member executive committee in the Netherlands by the Consul-General/East India Council of the East India Company. Recent studies of the records by Teijiro Yamawaki (See Panel-3) have revealed the true extent of trading between Japan and the Netherlands. Soy Sauce Export in the Edo Period ("History of Noda City, Vol.3"), a thesis by Mr. Yamawaki describes in detai soy sauce exports during the period of national isolation. Kikkoman Corp. began manufacturing Kikkoman Soy Sauce in the Netherlands in October, 1997. It seems more than just a coincidence that the first soy sauce manufacturing plant in Europe was located in the Netherlands and that it was the Dutch people who introduced soy sauce, a symbol of Japanese food culture, for the first time to Europe. In this exhibition, thanks to Mr. Yamawaki, Kikkoman Institute for International Food Culture has this great opportunity to introduce to you his unique research results. We would be honored if you would spend the time to learn more about soy sauce exports during the Edo Era. |
｜Exhibition TOP｜
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