Changes

As a result of the [[Ming dynasty|Ming dynasty's]] ban on direct Sino-Japanese trade or travel, the various lands of Southeast Asia became the primary destinations. Beginning in 1567, the ban was lifted for trade and contact in Southeast Asia, and many traders who would otherwise have been deemed [[wako|pirates]] for their violation of the ban were thus able to engage in legal activity, though trade and travel directly between China and Japan remained illegal<ref>Wray. p2.</ref>. These factors combined with a number of others to create a vibrant trading scene across East and Southeast Asia, a period which Southeast Asian historian [[Anthony Reid]] has dubbed "the Age of Commerce."<ref>Reid.</ref>

As a result of the [[Ming dynasty|Ming dynasty's]] ban on direct Sino-Japanese trade or travel, the various lands of Southeast Asia became the primary destinations. Beginning in 1567, the ban was lifted for trade and contact in Southeast Asia, and many traders who would otherwise have been deemed [[wako|pirates]] for their violation of the ban were thus able to engage in legal activity, though trade and travel directly between China and Japan remained illegal<ref>Wray. p2.</ref>. These factors combined with a number of others to create a vibrant trading scene across East and Southeast Asia, a period which Southeast Asian historian [[Anthony Reid]] has dubbed "the Age of Commerce."<ref>Reid.</ref>

Japanese abroad worked in a myriad of roles, though most were merchants, mercenaries, sailors, soldiers, servants, or manual laborers of various sorts<ref>Wray. pp8-9.</ref>. The establishment of the [[shuinsen|red seal ships]] system by Toyotomi Hideyoshi in the 1590s, and its continuation under [[Tokugawa Ieyasu]] in the early decades of the 17th century caused this trade and overseas activity to reach a climax and enter a golden age. Through these maritime adventurers and overseas communities, Japanese entrepôt trade in Southeast Asia thrived. Many of the more active ports came to have a port master, or head of the Japanese community; this port master, called ''syahbandar'' in Malay and Indonesia, oversaw the activities of the residents of the ''Nihonmachi'', served as a liaison between the community and the local authorities, and played an important role in coordinating the port's trade with non-resident Japanese traders who came to the port<ref>Wray. p9.</ref>.

Japanese abroad worked in a myriad of roles, though most were merchants, mercenaries, sailors, soldiers, servants, or manual laborers of various sorts<ref>Wray. pp8-9.</ref>. A few ran restaurants or Japanese-style inns, and a few are even known as actors or dancers.<ref>Cesare Polenghi, ''Samurai of Ayutthaya: Yamada Nagamasa, Japanese warrior and merchant in early seventeenth-century Siam''. Bangkok: White Lotus Press (2009), 26.</ref> The establishment of the [[shuinsen|red seal ships]] system by Toyotomi Hideyoshi in the 1590s, and its continuation under [[Tokugawa Ieyasu]] in the early decades of the 17th century caused this trade and overseas activity to reach a climax and enter a golden age. Through these maritime adventurers and overseas communities, Japanese entrepôt trade in Southeast Asia thrived. Many of the more active ports came to have a port master, or head of the Japanese community; this port master, called ''syahbandar'' in Malay and Indonesia, oversaw the activities of the residents of the ''Nihonmachi'', served as a liaison between the community and the local authorities, and played an important role in coordinating the port's trade with non-resident Japanese traders who came to the port<ref>Wray. p9.</ref>.

For roughly three decades, Japanese communities across Southeast Asia thrived. This came to an end, however, in the 1630s, as the Tokugawa shogunate began to impose [[kaikin|maritime restrictions]]; in 1635, Japanese were banned from travelling abroad, and from returning to Japan from overseas. Some of these Southeast Asian ''Nihonmachi'' survived through the end of the 17th century. Japan's foreign trade was now handled exclusively by Chinese, Dutch, and Southeast Asian ships, but Japanese living abroad continued to play important commercial roles, and in some cases to exert considerable influence upon the economies of a number of ports. Still, by the end of the 17th century, the lack of influx of new Japanese immigrants led these communities to either disappear through assimilation into the peoples of their new homes, or to die out entirely.

For roughly three decades, Japanese communities across Southeast Asia thrived. This came to an end, however, in the 1630s, as the Tokugawa shogunate began to impose [[kaikin|maritime restrictions]]; in 1635, Japanese were banned from travelling abroad, and from returning to Japan from overseas. Some of these Southeast Asian ''Nihonmachi'' survived through the end of the 17th century. Japan's foreign trade was now handled exclusively by Chinese, Dutch, and Southeast Asian ships, but Japanese living abroad continued to play important commercial roles, and in some cases to exert considerable influence upon the economies of a number of ports. Still, by the end of the 17th century, the lack of influx of new Japanese immigrants led these communities to either disappear through assimilation into the peoples of their new homes, or to die out entirely.