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"[16th CENTURY JAPAN] Flags of foreign 'Nanban' ships" Topic


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Comments or corrections?

oliverjapan04 Jun 2014 5:54 a.m. PST

I am looking for illustrations of flags of foreign ships / representatives that reached Japan in the late 16th century.

Either Portuguese explorers or merchants, or Dutch ships, including the "Liefde" whose pilot William Adams inspired James Clavell's "Shogun" …
Also interested in religious banners from the missionary missions that landed in southern Japan.

Any source of information would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks +++

Lion in the Stars05 Jun 2014 5:19 p.m. PST

Well, warships would be very simple.

Not sure about civilian/merchant ships.

oliverjapan07 Jun 2014 10:00 a.m. PST

OK, thanks!
Apologies for being ignorant in that field, but where could I find an illustration of the flag/banner of a Portuguese / Dutch warship in the mid-to-late 16th century then?

EValerio07 Jun 2014 10:57 a.m. PST

Amazing ship models!

Sao Miguel 16th century Armed Portuguese Merchant Ship:

picture

Friesland 1663 Dutch Warship:

picture

picture

Zeehaen 1639 Dutch ship of the East India Dutch Company:

picture

Frol de la Mar 16th century Portuguese Galleon, sank at Malacca Harbor:

picture

A Caravel, a mid 15th century Portuguese Ship:

picture

The caravels used by Portuguese explorers were supplanted by the Carrack which was better for trading. I am not sure if the Sao Miguel is an example of a Carrack.

mrinku09 Jun 2014 3:29 p.m. PST

Found this interesting paper:

japanesembassies.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/yamafune-thesis.pdf

It's only a MA thesis, but it has some solid information on ship arrivals, usually one or occasionally two per year (which was related to the annual nature of the trade winds, as with other Asian trade missions). The author's research suggests that as a result it was a large ship that was used; the Frol de Mar above is probably a good one to work from.

mrinku09 Jun 2014 11:20 p.m. PST

Oh, also note that the Frol del la Mar sunk in 1511, although it was one of the larger ships of its time and does seem to have been the prototype of later ships for the India run. The Sao Miguel is probably a little small to have shown up in Japan.

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