JAPAN AND THE WEST: SOURCES FROM DUTCH ARCHIVES

PARTS I - V

National Archives of the Netherlands, The Hague

on microfiche

Documents from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Part I. Documents  concerning the negotiation of a trade agreement with Japan, 1852-1870

This archive concerns mostly the period from the "opening" of Japan in the early 1850s until the Meiji Restoration, with some earlier documents. The majority of the documents are in Dutch, but there is also material present in English, French, German and some Japanese. Much of the material is diplomatic correspondence (originals of letters received by the Ministry and transcriptions of outgoing missives) and has to do of course with the major diplomatic questions of the period, such as the events leading up to and the aftermath of Matthew Perry's expeditions to Japan of 1853-1854, including the signing of treaties of commerce and navigation between Japan and other nations and the — frequently delayed — opening up of Japanese ports and cities to foreigners. Later documents report on the civil war and restoration of the emperor in the period 1868-1870, including, for example, an eye-witness account of the outbreak of civil war at Osaka and the burning of that city's castle.

Part II. Political Reports on Japan, 1887-1940

The great majority of these reports up to the First World War were written in French, at that time still the language of international diplomacy and the Dutch social and cultural elite. After 1914 Dutch predominates. There are also press clippings in English, French and German among the documents. Written by diplomats stationed in Japan for the Minister of Foreign Affairs, they concern a variety of subjects, such as the situation at the Japanese imperial court; ministerial crises and changes in the cabinet; political and student unrest; hostilities and military manoeuvres; negotiations on treaties and information on legislation, taxes and trade; state visits and the deaths of leading personages; murders and political assassinations; diplomatic incidents and affronts; meetings and debates of the Japanese parliament, and much more. Major events of the period, such as the Sino-Japanese War and the Japanese occupation of Korea are covered.

Part III. The archive of the Dutch legation in Japan, 1870-1890

Chronologically this archive follows the period covered by Part I of this series “Documents concerning the negotiation of a trade agreement with Japan, 1852-1870”. There are many documents in Japanese, English and French in this part, as well of course as Dutch. Types of materials and subjects treated include:

General correspondence 1870-1890 with some diaries of the correspondence; correspondence concerning shipments of books and Japanese paper; the Dutch civil registry; marriage of a Dutch doctor with a Japanese woman before the Japanese authorities; Dutch consulates in Japan and their personnel; consular service, rights, etc.; and correspondence and other documents in Japanese concerning the commission of Dutch consular officials, 19th century.

Further there is corre­spondence concerning the persecution of Christians in Japan 1867-1872; Dutch land and property in Yokohama, Edo and Kanagawa; division of land at Yokohama and Kobe (Hiogo) among Dutch, French, English and Swiss 1860-1877; with the governor-general of the Netherlands East Indies 1874-1877; recruitment of Japanese soldiers for Dutch service in the East Indies 1867-1875; concerning hunting and hunting licenses in Japan; opening and closing of Japanese ports for foreigners and foreign settlements in those ports 1864-1879; opening Japan for foreigners 1873-1877; on Dutch citizens in Japanese service or who want to enter Japanese service 1872-1875; dissolution of a contract between a Dutch engineer and the Japanese school for foreign languages Kagoshima 1877-1879.

There is also correspondence concerning placing or moving navigation lights; permission to fly Dutch flag on ships 1867-1875; over Japanese coins 1867-1876; and the issuing of internal passports by the Japanese government 1874-1877, 1890.

Further this part contains documents concerning disputes between Dutch firms and between the Nederlandsche Handelmaatschappij and a Japanese for fraud; liquidation of a Dutch coal mining firm; accepting or soliciting Japanese knighthoods (honors); and finally measures against the spread of cholera.

Part IV. The archive of the Dutch consulate at Nagasaki 1860-1915

This archive contains corre­spondence for the period 1860-1908 with calendars of the correspondence for 1868-1892; 1892-1913. In particular, 1867 has some important letters concerning opening the harbors of Hiogo and Osaka.

There are also various other documents including the bookkeeping 1898-1907,  notarial acts 1860-1883, 1890, 1898 and some wills. Further there are files on police business in Deshima 1862; an auction house at Nagasaki 1860-1863; bankruptcy; and various legal cases.

Finally, one finds a register of Dutch nationals 1882-1915, a list of Swedish and Norwegian subjects 1883-1896; a file on graves of foreigners at Nagasaki; and documents concerning buying, selling and renting property at Deshima and in the “foreign compound”.

Part V. The archive of the Dutch consulate at Yokohama, 1860-1870

This archive contains the general correspondence of the consulate 1860-1870, with calendars/diaries of the correspondence; correspondence with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in The Hague 1864-1870 including copies of letters sent; correspondence with the consul-general during his trip to Edo 1860-1862; corre­spondence concerning Japanese rights of import-export; correspondence concerning the Dutch naval hospital at Yokohama 1865-1869 and the Dutch naval coaling station there 1865-1869. Further there are cash books 1861-1865; records concerning warehouse and “kambang” accounts 1860-1862, and finally receipts and other documents in Japanese.