Jan Hendrik Donker Curtius (21 April 1813 – 27 November 1879) was the last Opperhoofd of the Dutch trading post in Japan (1852-1855), located at Dejima an artificial island in the harbor of Nagasaki.

He married a relative (Cornelia Hendrika Donker Curtius, died 8 November 1860) while on home leave in Amsterdam, and his first son, Boudewijn,[1] was born at Semarang in 1845.

In early August 1853, Russian vice admiral Yevfimy Putyatin arrived at Nagasaki with a fleet of four vessels, just one month after the visit to Perry to Uraga in an attempt to force the opening of Japan.

Stirling requested the assistance of Curtius to reaffirm Japan’s neutrality in the conflict, but through a series of miscommunications and misunderstandings, the negotiations ended with the signing of the Anglo-Japanese Friendship Treaty of 1854.

[5] In 1855 Curtius organized the transfer of the HM Soembing from Royal Netherlands Navy to the Japanese government as a gift from Dutch King William III to Shogun Tokugawa Iesada.

[6] Curtius followed with the Dutch-Japanese Friendship Treaty of January 1856, which opened the city and port of Nagasaki to Dutch traders, who were no longer to be confined to their prison-like location in Dejima.

[9] In 1858 Curtius made a ceremonial visit to Edo as representative of the King William III of the Netherlands to pay tribute to Shogun Tokugawa Iesada.