Siam from a Japanese perspective

[andrew]

The Exodus

During the 3 or 4 decades before 1635, an estimated 100,000 Japanese people left their country. Obviously some of these people went back home after their travels, but many of them settled permanently overseas.

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NOTE: the figure of 100,000 is from "The Samurai of Ayuthaya" by Cesare Polenghi.

I bought my copy here: http://www.dco.co.th/product_info.php?products_id=987

I also wrote to the author to discuss my GF's family name. It was this author who explained that I was correct in all of my assumptions.

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The people who left Japan prior to 1635 can be classified as followed:

1. Merchants and artisans.

These were just normal people. They left Japan because they wanted a new life overseas. Maybe they weren't doing too well back home. Maybe they were unemployed. Or maybe they just dreamed of setting up shop somewhere new.

Some of them made it to Ayuthaya; others settled in Spanish Manila; a few may have gone to places like Pattani and Singora; others re-located to Hoi An (Vietnam).

Here's a rather dinky little bridge in Hoi An. You don't need to worry about the date when it was built. You only need to remember that it was made by Japanese people who left their country before 1635.

2. The Catholics

The Spanish and Portuguese did a good job of catholicizing the Japanese. Lots of Japanese converted. But it didn't last. The authorities got pissed off with this new religion and rapidly stamped it out. The Christians were persecuted for their beliefs.

Many of these Japanese Christians sailed with their families to one of the two Japanese villages in Spanish Manila. It's also known that some of them resettled in Ayuthaya.

3. The Samurai

Shortly before the era I'm describing, Japan had been fraught with a series of civil wars. As a consequence, many Samurai became masterless. In simple English, they were unemployed.

The number one client country for Samurai seeking to make a fresh start to life overseas was Siam. In Siam, employment opportunites abounded.

But why? What was so special about Siam?

[rgs2001uk]

^^^^^^^,

But why? What was so special about Siam?

They were employed as mercanaries.

http://www.ospreypublishing.com/articles/eastern_warfare/the_forgotten_samurai/

http://historum.com/asian-history/31574-samurai-mercenaries.html

http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/timelineminiatures/message/28

[andrew]

The Red Seal Ships

The Japanese came here in what were called red seal ships. These were government-sanctioned vessels that could carry up to 200 people.

They came; they saw; they settled.

The Wikipedia page about red seal ships is actually quite good. I would encourage you to read it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_seal_ships

Look at the section about Indonesia. It reads:

"In 1618, Coen, the Dutch governor of Java, requested 25 Japanese Samurai to be sent to him from Japan".

Do you remember this man, Coen? He was the Dutch Governor who employed Samurai mercenaries to reduce the population of the Banda Islands from about 15000 to just 1000 in the space of a single year. He is the man depicted in that painting I showed in the opening post.

The Red Seal Permits

The destinations for the red seal ships weren't recorded until 1604.

Take a look at this document. For the time being, it probably won't make much sense. But it's massively important. It shows that the first recorded red seal ship to Siam went to Shinichu. And Shinichu was the Japanese name for Singora.

The name Shamuro is Siam. The name Mishiya is Ayuthaya.

Note: some people refer to red seal ships as vermillion seal ships. The word "vermillion" is just a fancy word for "red".

[andrew]

^^^^^^^,

But why? What was so special about Siam?

They were employed as mercanaries.

http://www.ospreypublishing.com/articles/eastern_warfare/the_forgotten_samurai/

http://historum.com/asian-history/31574-samurai-mercenaries.html

http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/timelineminiatures/message/28

Very good. I was actually going to link to Stephen Turnbull's book, The World of the Warrior.

Google: the world of the warrior client country

If you're in luck, you'll get access to page 161.

If not ...............

[andrew]

But why? What was so special about Siam?

They were employed as mercanaries.

http://www.ospreypublishing.com/articles/eastern_warfare/the_forgotten_samurai/

Just taken another look at things.

The link from Osprey Publishing is interesting. I didn't notice that it was written by Stephen Turnbull (whose book I referenced earlier).

The paragraph entitled The Mercenaries is interesting. It reads:

Yet from the late 16th century onwards we can identify references to Japanese samurai fighting in foreign armies. The most important country was Siam (Thailand), where Japanese warriors provided a bodyguard for the King and were highly valued.

Moderators

Why is it that some Scottish troll has posted a series of Vietnam war videos on this thread?

Please -- let's put this attention-seeking idiot out of its misery.