ENGLISH  |  עברית March 2014 Previous Next  When the West
reached Japan  Anonymous artist, Three Foreigners from different
Countries, mid-19th c., nagasaki-e, woodblock print, Tikotin
collection  When the West reached Japan   April 12th - December
14th, 2003  Curator: Dr. Ilana Singer   In the year 1600 a Dutch
boat was swept onto the coast at Kyushu, with a British
navigator named William Adams (d. 1620) on board. Adams remained
in Japan as adviser to the Shogun in regard to trade with the
West. He worked to develop commercial contacts between Japan and
Holland and Great Britain, and warned the Shogun against the
Portuguese, the Spanish, and the missionaries of the Catholic
church. In 1614 an edict forbidding Christianity was published
in Japan, and the foreign missionaries were commanded to leave
the country. In 1624 all Spanish merchants were also expelled,
as were the Portuguese in 1636. Although the British traders
were not ordered to leave, they decided that trade with Japan
was unprofitable because of