| The Port of Nagasaki is the capital and largest city in Nagasaki Prefecture in western Kyushu, the third largest island of Japan. It lies at the mouth of the Urakami River on Nagasaki Harbor on the southwest coast of the island. The Port of Nagasaki has long played an important role in Japan's acceptance of Western culture. Port History The Port of Nagasaki was secluded until the Portuguese landed on the island in 1542. Spanish missionaries converted several feudal lords, including Omura Sumitada. He made a deal to receive trade from Portuguese ships at the port he helped establish in 1571. Sugar was the port's main import from the Dutch, and the city became famous for its generous use of sugar in local dishes. The word Tempura comes from the Portuguese word �empero?meaning sauce or seasoning. Portuguese trade stimulated the Port of Nagasaki's growth, with products like tobacco, bread, and textiles flowing into the area from abroad. The city of Nagasaki was briefly a Jesuit colony, and Japanese Christians escaped found refuge in the Port of Nagasaki. The port prospered for five years, but powerful feudal lord Toyotomi Hideyoshi banned Christianity. In 1596, Spain's San Felipe wrecked off the eastern coast of Shikoku, and Hideyoshi believed that the Franciscans were invading Japan. In response, Hideyoshi ordered all missionaries to leave the country and took direct control of the city; however, the priests remained, and Christianity continued to be practiced there. The following �xecution of the 26 saints?resulted with 26 Christians being brought from other Japanese cities to Hagasaki where they were executed. In 1614, Catholicism was officially banned in Japan. Many, but not all, Catholics renounced the religion. The word �imabara?came to symbolize the relationship between Christianity and treason. A period of brutal Christian persecution and martyrdom followed, and thousands of people on Kyushu were tortured and killed. After 300 years, it was considered a miracle when descendants of the first Japanese Christians were found living in Nagasaki's Urakami district. In 1636, the shogunate established a community on the island of Dejima to isolate the Portuguese traders and prevent the spread of Christianity. In just a few years, the Portuguese were forbidden from entering Japan, and the Dutch East India Company trading post was moved to Dejima. The trading post was abolished in 1858 when Japan and the US entered into the Treaty of Kanagawa. In 1922, the old Dutch East India Company trading post was designated a historic site, and restoration efforts began in 1996. In 1808, the British frigate HMS Phaeton entered the Port of Nagasaki looking for Dutch trading ships. The local magistrate, who was forced to provide food, water, and fuel to the British, committed seppuku (ritual suicide) for his shame. In response, Japanese laws were passed strengthening coastal defenses, training translating English and Russian translators, and threatening execution for foreign intruders. Even so, there was a Chinese factory in the Port of Nagasaki that brought goods and information to Japan during the 18th Century. Commodore Matthew Perry from the US landed there in 1853. The Shogunate soon collapsed, and Japan opened for trade and diplomacy. In 1859, the Port of Nagasaki became a free port and, by 1868, began to modernize. The Meiji Restoration of the late 19th Century brought the Port of Nagasaki economic power, with shipbuilding as its primary industry. Ironically, the shipbuilding industry made the city a target in World War II because many Japanese warships were built there. At 11 A.M. on August 1945, the Port of Nagasaki was attacked by the US when they dropped the second atomic bomb, destroying the north part of the city and instantly killing about 40 thousand residents. The Nagasaki Peace Park counts total dead at almost 74 |
