Hirado

For the Hungarian TV news, See MTV Híradó

Hirado 平戸市
Central Area of Hirado
Location of Hirado in Nagasaki
Hirado
Coordinates: 33°22′N 129°33′E / 33.367°N 129.55°E / 33.367; 129.55
Country	Japan
Region	Kyūshū
Prefecture	Nagasaki
Area
- Total	235.63 km2 (91 sq mi)
Population (January 1, 2009)	36,000
- Density	153/km2 (396.3/sq mi)
City Symbols
- Tree	Podocarpaceae
- Flower	Hirado Rhododendron
Website	City of Hirado (English)
Phone number	0950-22-4111

Hirado (平戸市, Hirado-shi^?) is a city in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. The part historically named Hirado is located on the island of the same name. With recent mergers, the city's boundaries have expanded, and Hirado now occupies parts of the main island of Kyūshū. The components are connected by the Hirado Bridge.

History

Hirado had been a port of call for ships between the Asian mainland and Japan since the Nara period. During the Kamakura and Muromachi periods, the local Matsuura clan held the rights to trade with Korea and with Sung Dynasty China. During the Sengoku and early Edo periods, Hirado's role as a center of foreign trade increased, especially vis-a-vis Ming Dynasty China and the Dutch East India Company (VOC). The Portuguese arrived in 1550; and the English and Dutch initially reached Japan at the beginning of the 17th century.

The first step in the profitable Dutch-Japanese trading relationship was the Shogun's grant of a trading pass (handelspas) in 1609.^[1]

At its maximum the Dutch trading center covered the whole area of present-day Sakikata Park.^[2] In 1637 and in 1639, stone warehouses were constructed, and the Dutch builders incorporated these dates into the stonework. However, the Tokugawa shogunate disapproved of the use of any Christian Era year dates, and therefore demanded the immediate destruction of these two structures.^[3] This failure to comply with strict sakoku practices was then used as one of the Shogunate's rationales for forcing the Dutch traders to abandon Hirado for the more constricting confines of Dejima, a small artificial island in the present-day city of Nagasaki.^[3] The last VOC Opperhoofd or Kapitan at Hirado and the first one at Dejima was François Caron, who oversaw the transfer in 1641.^[4][5] However, modern research indicated that this incident might actually have been an excuse for the Shogunate to take the Dutch trade away from the Hirado clan.^[3] During the Edo period, Hirado was the seat of the Hirado Domain. Hirado Castle is today an historical and architectural landmark.

The modern city was founded on January 1, 1955. The city expanded by merging on October 1, 2005, with the neighboring towns of Tabira, Ikitsuki, and the village of Ōshima. The local economy is dominated by agriculture, fishing and food processing.

Famous people connected with Hirado

• The Taiwanese national hero and Ming general Koxinga (1624–1662) and the Japanese diplomat Inagaki Manjiro (1861–1908) were born in Hirado.
• William Adams (1564–1620), the English navigator, died there.
• Camillus Constanzo (1571–1622), Italian Jesuit martyr, burnt alive in Hirado.^[6]

Sister City relations

Hirado has one sister city in Japan and one friendship city outside Japan.^[7]

• Zentsūji, Kagawa (Sister city)
• Nan'an, Fujian, China (Friendship city)

Gallery

Hirado Castle -- see engraving below

Aerial photo of Hirado Castle -- compare drawing below

The monument marking the location of the former English House and the English trading post in Hirado -- see drawing below

Grave of William Adams who was instrumental in negotiating permission for English to build a trading post at Hirado; and arguably, he would have negotiated a trading pass similar to the one preserved in the Netherlands National Archives -- see document below

The castle of the Daimyo of Hirado -- engraving, 17th century

Topographical map of the bay of Hirado in 1621. To the right on the shore-line, the Dutch East India Company trading post is marked with the red-white-blue flag of the Netherlands. To the far left, somewhat back from the shore-line, the white flag with the red cross, the St George's Cross of England at the East India Company trading post. The English factory in Hirado was established in 1613. Richard Cocks was appointed as chief merchant. The factory was eventually closed in 1623 -- drawing, 1621

The Dutch VOC trading factory in Hirado was much larger than the English one -- engraving, 17th century

This document is a "trade pass" (Dutch: handelspas) issued in the name of Tokugawa Ieyasu. The text commands: "Dutch ships are allowed to travel to Japan, and they can disembark on any coast, without any reserve. From now on this regulation must be observed, and the Dutch left free to sail where they want throughout Japan. No offenses to them will be allowed, such as on previous occasions" – dated August 24, 1609 (Keichō 14, 25th day of the 6th month); n.b., the goshuin (御朱印) identifies this as an official document bearing the shogun's scarlet seal

View of Hirado bay from Hirado castle, 2006

The monument to Camillus Costanzo, Jesuit martyr, located in the mainland part of the modern city of Hirado, formerly the town of Tabira.

The Hirado Bridge connects the mainland part of the city to the island. It was built in 1977.

Notes

References

• (Dutch) de Winter, Michiel. (2006). "VOC in Japan: Betrekkingen tussen Hollanders en Japanners in de Edo-periode, tussen 1602-1795" ("VOC in Japan: Relations between the Dutch and Japanese in the Edo-period, between 1602-1795").
• Edo-Tokyo Museum exhibition catalog. (2000). A Very Unique Collection of Historical Significance: The Kapitan (the Dutch Chief) Collection from the Edo Period—The Dutch Fascination with Japan. Catalog of "400th Anniversary Exhibition Regarding Relations between Japan and the Netherlands," a joint-project of the Edo-Tokyo Museum, the City of Nagasaki, the National Museum of Ethnology, the National Natuurhistorisch Museum" and the National Herbarium of the Netherlands in Leiden, the Netherlands. Tokyo.
• Satow, Ernest Mason, ed. (1900). The Voyage of Captain John Saris to Japan, 1613. London: Hakluyt Society...Link to digitized version from the collection of the University of California

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Hirado, Nagasaki

• Hirado official website in Japanese
• Hirado official website in English
• American Friendship Doll at Hirado Kindergarten

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