Red seal ships

[3] From the 13th to the 16th century, Japanese ships were quite active in Asian waters, often in the role of "wakō" pirates, that raided the Korean and Chinese coasts.

Their commerce disappeared around 1570 with the rise of Chinese merchants and the intervention of Portuguese and Spanish ships and corresponds with the beginnings of the red seal system.

[citation needed] Besides Japanese traders, 12 European and 11 Chinese residents, including William Adams and Jan Joosten, are known to have received permits.

Later, when the Southeast Asian trade was well-established, numerous ships were ordered and purchased in Ayutthaya in Siam, on account of high-quality construction and materials.

[citation needed] The ships were managed by rich trading families such as the Suminokura, Araki, Chaya and Sueyoshi, or by individual adventurers such as Suetsugu Heizō, Yamada Nagamasa, William Adams, Jan Joosten or Murayama Tōan.

[citation needed] Japanese merchants mainly exported silver, diamonds, copper, swords, and other artifacts, and imported Chinese silk as well as some Southeast Asian products (like sugar and deer skins).

Pepper and spices were rarely imported into Japan, where people did not eat a great deal of meat due to the local preponderance of adherents to the Buddhist belief system.

[citation needed] The crew of the red seal ships were international, for many Chinese, Portuguese, and Dutch pilots and interpreters joined the sails.

The Siamese "Chronicles of the Kingdom of Ayutthaya" record that already in 1592, 500 Japanese troops under the King of Siam helped defeat an invading Burmese army.

[citation needed] A Japanese adventurer, Yamada Nagamasa, became very influential and ruled part of the Kingdom of Siam (Thailand) during that period.

They distinguished themselves in the capture of the Banda Islands from the English and the defense of Batavia, until the practice of hiring Japanese mercenaries was prohibited by the Shōgun in 1621.

[citation needed] The Japanese adventurer Tenjiku Tokubei is related to have traveled to Siam as well as India on board a Red Seal ship of Jan Joosten.

[citation needed] Also in comparison, the English factory in Hirado only received four ships from England in the space of 10 years (during its existence between 1613 and 1623), with generally non-valuable cargo.

To survive, the factory actually had to resort to trade between Japan and Southeast Asia under the Red seal system, organizing seven expeditions, four of which were handled by William Adams.

Richard Cocks, head of the English factory in Hirado, reported that 60 to 70 Chinese junks visited Nagasaki in 1614, sailed by Fukienese smugglers.

[citation needed] In 1633–1639, Shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu enacted the sakoku policy, which officially prohibited overseas travel by Japanese.

A modern scale model reconstruction of a red seal ship in the National Museum of Japanese History .
A 1634 Japanese red seal ship , incorporating both European-style lateen sails and Chinese-style junk rig sails, rudder and aft designs. The ships were typically armed with 6 to 8 cannons. Tokyo Naval Science Museum.
Japanese red seal trade in the early 17th century. [ 1 ]
Record of a red seal license, dated 11 January 1608.
Red seal ship with Japanese and Portuguese sailors, early 17th century
Sueyoshi red seal ship in 1633, with foreign pilots and sailors. Kiyomizu-dera Ema (絵馬) painting, Kyoto .
Suminokura red seal ship with foreigners. Kiyomizu-dera Ema painting, Kyoto .
A 17th-century red seal ship of the Araki trading family, sailing out of Nagasaki for Annam (Vietnam)
Japanese portolan sailing map, depicting the Indian Ocean and the East Asian coast, early 17th century.
Yamada Nagamasa c.1630.
Nine Japanese samurai were employed at Amboyna in 1623, when they were victim of the Amboyna massacre .
Tenjiku Tokubei , 17th century.