After coming from Nagasaki we thought we had seen a lot of
history. Or at least places where
the East met West. But tiny Hirado
played a big part as well.
The first ship with Westerners to arrive was Portuguese in
1550. But they soon had a falling
out with the locals and had to withdraw to Nagasaki in 1551. The Dutch established a trading house
in 1609 and soon trade was flourishing.
Streets, bridges, land reclamation to make quayside wharfs, large
buildings etc were soon part of Hirado.
The English came and established a trading house in 1613 but left after
10 years. In 1639 the Shoganate
closed all trade with foreigners except the Dutch. But the Dutch were moved out of Hirado and re-established in
Nagasaki in 1941.
There are loads of sights to see and it is a very
picturesque port. We have to admit
though everything is pretty much up and down. Actually there are more ruins of steps than anything else. Which means we got our exercise while
sightseeing.
One of the things we found interesting was the gravestone of
William Adams locally called Miura Anjin.
He was a Dutch seaman who drifted ashore in 1600 and soon became very
influential and a foreign affairs advisor to the Shogun. We both enjoyed James Clavel's Shogun
and we think this figure was the inspiration for that novel.
Hirado played a huge part in the survival of Christianity
during the closed door era and even today 15% of the locals are Catholic. Francis Xavier made three trips. There are loads of shrines and churches
marking many martyrs and persecutions.
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