The Nagasaki Port

Originally founded by the Portuguese, the Nagasaki Port became a huge part of culture in Japan. Goods such as tobacco, textiles, bread and castellas (a type of Portuguese cake), became a new popular part of Japanese culture. Being a Portuguese owned city, Jesuit Leader, Alexandro Valignano wished to keep the control of Nagasaki out of the hands of a "Non-Catholic Daimyo." So for a short period of time, Nagasaki became a Jesuit colony. Nagasaki soon became a refuge for Christians escaping Non-Catholic regions of Japan. Nagasaki was becoming more and more Christian. In effect the daimyo, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, attempted to unify the Southern and Christian part of Japan with the rest by exiling the Christian missionaries. But his commands were so weakly enforced that Nagasaki remained a Christian city. As you can see from the image, Nagasaki is extremely close to China, thus creating the perfect environment for cultures to move between China, Japan and Portuguese.


Image from World-Guides.com