Home » Images » 0017 Pictures From History » CPA0008458

Japan: A trading pass for Dutch merchant vessels issued in the name of Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543-1616) by Chakusu Kurunbeike, with Ieyasu's seal attached

The pass states: Dutch ships are allowed to travel to Japan, and they can disembark on any coast, without any reserve. From now on this regulation must be observed, and the Dutch left free to sail where they want throughout Japan. No offenses to them will be allowed, such as on previous occasions. Sealed and dated August 24, 1609. This is an official document bearing the shogun's scarlet seal.

Ieyasu, acting as the retired shogun (ōgosho), remained the effective ruler of Japan until his death. Ogosho Ieyasu also supervised diplomatic affairs with the Netherlands and Spain. He chose to distance Japan from the Europeans starting in 1609, although the bakufu did give the Dutch exclusive trading rights and permitted them to maintain a factory for trading purposes. From 1605 until his death, Ieyasu consulted with an English Protestant pilot in Dutch employ, William Adams.