Japan and Dai Viet (former Vietnam) in the 17th century: privileged partners?
Conference by Pierre-Emmanuel Bachelet, lecturer in Modern and Contemporary History of East Asia and South-East Asia at the École Normale Supérieure de Lyon and member of the East Asia Institute (UMR 5062). In his book Pigeon boats and Japanese quarters, Pierre-Emmanuel Bachelet reconstructs the exchanges between Japan and Đại Việt from the end of the 16nd early 18thnd century. Likewise, it exposes the role of the communities established in Đại Việt, particularly in the Japanese quarter (Nihonmachi) of Hội An. It shows that the Japanese were leading intermediaries in relations between Vietnamese and Europeans.
He drew his sources from ancient Japanese historiography and the historiographies of circulation and intercultural relations.
Japan is experiencing, as of 16nd century, a period of great political instability with wars between the great clans, the crumbling of imperial power and that of the shogunate until the seizure of power by Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543-1616) in 1603 who ensured control of the country. Appointed shogun by the emperor, the title will be hereditary until the 19thnd century.
At the same time, Đại Việt was also shaken by unrest until a truce was more or less established between the Nguyễn and Trịnh families, in 1672, splitting the country in two: the Đàng Trong of Nguyễn in the South (Cochinchina) and Đàng Ngoài des Trịnh in the North (Tonkin). But during this period, the fictitious unity of the country was maintained by the two clans who claimed to act in the name of King Lê whom the Trinh maintained in power, the two semi-states calling themselves the “kingdom of Annam” .
 Map of Vietnam in the 17th century. |
 Example of shuinjō. |
 Letter from Tokugawa Ieyasu to Nguyễn Hoàng, 1602. |
 Letter from Nguyễn Hoàng to Tokugawa Ieyasu, 1603. |
During the 16thnd century, the power of daimyo is partly due to the exploitation of mines, in particular of silver, a metal which they export and, to do this, they invest in foreign trade. Deteriorating relations with China are pushing them toward Southeast Asia. When the country was unified by Tokugawa Ieyasu, this flourishing trade was taken over by the government. From now on, Japanese ships must have a license (shuinjō) bearing the red seal of the shogun to be able to trade. By convention, these ships are called "vermilion seal ships" (shuinsen). These are the “pigeon boats” mentioned in a letter from Fujiwara Seika (1561-1619) addressed to a high official in Đại Việt. Documentation sources are provided by official Japanese and Vietnamese documents, the corpus of a Japanese merchant from Đại Việt, as well as the corpus of the East India Company in Hirado (1613-1623), the archives of missionaries (Jesuits and Missions Étrangères de Paris) and Dutch sources.
Just as political unrest stimulated foreign trade in Japan, the wars in Đại Việt generated a strong demand for imported products, mainly silver and copper coins. The Đàng Trong of the Nguyễn particularly benefits from this phenomenon. It is in this context of commercial expansion participating in the “first globalization” that Đại Việt, Champa and Japan came to maintain direct relations because, previously, these relations passed through Chinese merchants.
Between 1601 and 1635, there were between 350 to 400 voyages between Japan and Đại Việt and we see that the Vietnamese territories were the main partners of Tokugawa Japan. Thus, in 1601, there was a first exchange between Lord Nguyễn Hoàng and Tokugawa Ieyasu. If relations seem more cordial between Japan and Đàng Trong it is because the Nguyễn were more attentive to respecting diplomatic protocol (official titles, presents, vocabulary used in letters). This choice of compromise makes it possible to find common ground, the importance of which the Trịnh do not seem to have appreciated. In fact, the Trịnh never granted the Tokugawa the title of king. The humble posture of the Nguyễn to show themselves worthy of bakufu bore fruit as the Trịnh probably offended the Tokugawa and relations broke down. However, this handicap must be put into perspective because diplomacy continued through local authorities and merchants. These official relations are often accompanied by diplomatic gifts which take the form of the most appreciated objects: for example round lacquer betel boxes, which can be seen on the Chāyā scroll.
 Scroll of Chāyā (detail). Jōmyō Temple. Nagoya. |
 Sueyoshi votive plaque depicting a shuinsen.1633. |
If the Japanese export silver and copper, they are demanding raw silk and Đàng Trong, although it produces less silk and more expensive than Đàng Ngoài, imports it from China. Merchants were better received there and Hội An became a trading port where merchants of all origins rub shoulders.
With the edicts of the 1630s which prohibited the Japanese from leaving the territory but also the Japanese residing abroad from returning to the country, the bakufu hopes to limit the economic independence of daimyo, curb Christianity (because we know that converted Japanese went to Đàng Trong to raise funds for missionaries and Christians in Japan), but also limit the presence of foreigners and the penetration of outside ideas. This does not prevent the trading volume from increasing until the beginning of the 18thnd century. Japanese merchants will trade with Chinese or European partners who go to Nagasaki. Official ties were maintained sporadically and the Nguyễn repeatedly sent letters to the shogun during the 17nd century. In 1728, two elephants were even offered to Tokugawa.
At the beginning of 17nd century, among the Japanese coming to take advantage of new commercial opportunities in Southeast Asia, fleeing the defeat of their masters or fleeing the proscription of Christianity, some gathered in a few major ports, one of the most important of which was Hội An. They developed a machi (district) where life was partly modeled on that of Japan.
Le Nihonmashi of Hội An was placed under the responsibility of a chief who managed the community but also trade and customs. The population of this neighborhood was actually composite, made up of Japanese migrants, their Vietnamese wives and their children (very few women made the trip). Despite the travel ban, the Japanese of Hội An manage to maintain letter-writing relations with their families or friends who remained in Japan and a spiritual link: the merchant Kadoya Shichirôbei asks people there to make offerings for him in temples from Nagasaki. He also asks for bonito, shitake, umeboshi, sake, etc.
The Japanese played a leading role in the expansion of Christianity in Đại Việt. However, Japanese Buddhism was not absent, temples were built and steles erected. Before the arrival of the Foreign Missions of Paris in 1660, the Jesuits were the main architects of the spread of Christianity. It is thanks to them that we know the religious life of the Japanese population of Hội An. However, echoing the Japanese edict expelling missionaries and the ban on practicing Christianity in Japan, Vietnamese and Japanese Christians will repeatedly persecuted in Đàng Trong.
We can say that it was Japanese merchants who played a major role in the development of Hội An, Đại Việt's main window on the outside world.
To conclude, the Japanese were very active players in the “China Seas” trade, even after the edicts prohibiting them from traveling. Although they certainly favored links with Đại Việt for reasons of proximity, they were also present as far as the Philippines and the Strait of Malacca.
