Changes

Once in Ayutthaya, [[Kiya Kyuzaemon|Kiya Kyûzaemon]], head of the Japantown, took Yamada under his wing. Yamada also began studying Siamese and at least one European language, and soon found a job working as a middleman in the lucrative deerskin trade. At some point while in Siam, or perhaps during his time in Sakai, Yamada Nizaemon took on the name Nagamasa.

Once in Ayutthaya, [[Kiya Kyuzaemon|Kiya Kyûzaemon]], head of the Japantown, took Yamada under his wing. Yamada also began studying Siamese and at least one European language, and soon found a job working as a middleman in the lucrative deerskin trade. At some point while in Siam, or perhaps during his time in Sakai, Yamada Nizaemon took on the name Nagamasa.

At one point, Yamada traveled to the northern borders of Siam, and volunteered to help fight alongside Siamese warriors against a Burmese invasion. Killing the Burmese general, he found himself invited to the royal palace by King [[Songtham]], and granted aristocratic title. When Kyûzaemon decided to return to Japan, he named Yamada his successor; by this time, Yamada had become a head of the royal guards, and a wealthy merchant in his own right, even owning his own ship.

At one point, Yamada traveled to the northern borders of Siam, and volunteered to help fight alongside Siamese warriors against a Burmese invasion. Killing the Burmese general, he found himself invited to the royal palace by King [[Songtham]], and granted aristocratic title. When Kyûzaemon decided to return to Japan, he named Yamada his successor; by this time, Yamada had become a head of the royal guards, and a wealthy merchant in his own right, even owning his own ship. Kyûzaemon last appears in the historical record in [[1619]]; it is unclear precisely when Nagamasa succeeded him as head of the community, but it must have been sometime between 1619 and [[1621]].<ref>Polenghi, 42.</ref>

In [[1621]], acting as representative of the royal court, Nagamasa sent three letters to Shogun [[Tokugawa Hidetada]] and two of the ''[[roju|rôjû]]'', in advance of Ayutthaya sending an embassy to [[Edo]] to negotiate for formal relations. This marks the first time anyone in the shogunate heard of (or from) Nagamasa, and as a result of [[Ishin Suden|Ishin Sûden]] investigating the identity of this mysterious "Yamada Nagamasa" and then recording it in his ''[[Ikoku nikki]]'', it also marks Yamada's first appearance in official shogunate documents.

In 1621, now serving as head of the ''Nihonmachi'' and acting as representative of the royal court, Nagamasa sent three letters to Shogun [[Tokugawa Hidetada]] and two of the ''[[roju|rôjû]]'', in advance of Ayutthaya sending an embassy to [[Edo]] to negotiate for formal relations. This marks the first time anyone in the shogunate heard of (or from) Nagamasa, and as a result of [[Ishin Suden|Ishin Sûden]] investigating the identity of this mysterious "Yamada Nagamasa" and then recording it in his ''[[Ikoku nikki]]'', it also marks Yamada's first appearance in official shogunate documents.

When King Songtham fell ill in [[1628]], he named a relative, known as the Kalahom (a military title), along with Yamada, to serve as regents for his underage successor. The Kalahom then began engineering the deaths of his political rivals, eventually ending in the death of the young king in [[1629]]; when a rebellion arose in the southern province of Ligor, the Kalahom suggested that if Yamada led forces to suppress the rebellion, he could then become lord of that province. Yamada succeeded in this endeavor, and established himself and his Japanese compatriots as rulers of Ligor. In the meantime, however, the Kalahom seized the the throne, naming himself King Prasat Thom.

When King Songtham fell ill in [[1628]], he named a relative, known as the Kalahom (a military title), along with Yamada, to serve as regents for his underage successor. The Kalahom then began engineering the deaths of his political rivals, eventually ending in the death of the young king in [[1629]]; when a rebellion arose in the southern province of Ligor, the Kalahom suggested that if Yamada led forces to suppress the rebellion, he could then become lord of that province. Yamada succeeded in this endeavor, and established himself and his Japanese compatriots as rulers of Ligor. In the meantime, however, the Kalahom seized the the throne, naming himself King Prasat Thom.