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Nguyễn Hoàng was ''Chúa'' (Lord) of central-southern [[Vietnam]] (a territory known as [[Quang Nam]]) from [[1600]] until his death in [[1613]]. He played a significant role in the development of the region, and especially of its chief port, [[Hoi An]], as well as being the Lord of Quang Nam who established formal relations with [[Toyotomi Hideyoshi]] and [[Tokugawa Ieyasu]].
Nguyễn Hoàng was ''Chúa'' (Lord) of central-southern [[Vietnam]] (a territory known as [[Quang Nam]]) from [[1600]] until his death in [[1613]]. He played a significant role in the development of the region, and especially of its chief port, [[Hoi An]], as well as being the Lord of Quang Nam who established formal relations with [[Toyotomi Hideyoshi]] and [[Tokugawa Ieyasu]].
Hoang was the second son of Nguyen Kim, who fought to restore the [[Le Dynasty]] following the rebellion of [[Mac Dang Dung]], who had seized [[Hanoi]] and declared himself Emperor. Nguyen Hoang fought for his father in these battles; Nguyen Kim eventually re-established the Le at Tay Do in Vietnam's Thanh Hoa province, but was killed in [[1545]] and was succeeded as caretaker of the Le court by his son-in-law Trinh Kiem. Hoang, meanwhile, was named garrison commander of Thuan Hoa in [[1558]], and later led his forces south, to establish a new capital at Ai Tu.<ref>Keith Taylor, "Nguyen Hoang and the Beginning of Vietnam's Southward Expansion," in Anthony Reid (ed.), ''Southeast Asia in the Early Modern Era'', Cornell University Press (1993), 43.</ref> While acknowledging the authority of the Le Emperors, Nguyen ruled the central-southern portion of Vietnam as his own domain, while the Trinh retained control of the north, and the separate polity of [[Champa]] remained in the south.
The earliest extant document reflecting communications between Nguyễn and Japan is a letter from Nguyễn Hoang dated [[1591]]. Addressed to the "King of Japan" and likely carried to Japan by a Japanese merchant active in regional maritime trade, the letter essentially offers gifts and asks for the establishment of formal relations.<ref>「ベトナムから秀吉に？「日本国王」あての書簡発見」, Asahi Shimbun, 17 April 2013.</ref> The outcome of this communication is unclear. However, Nguyễn is known to have contacted Japan again c. [[1599]]-[[1601]], after having captured the pirate [[Shirahama Kenki]], and requesting instructions as to what to do with him. Tokugawa Ieyasu's response, dated 1601, was long considered the earliest extant evidence of formal Vietnamese-Japanese relations, prior to the 2013 discovery of the 1591 document. In this 1601 letter, Ieyasu explained the [[shuinsen|red seal ship]] system - essentially, that authorized Japanese merchants possessed a license with an official red seal, and that others, who did not possess such a license, such as Shirahama, were under no protection of the Japanese authorities and could be dealt with as Nguyễn chose. Some fifteen letters exchanged between Nguyễn and Tokugawa, dated between 1601 and 1613, are known to be extant.<ref>Hoang Anh Tuan, "Vietnamese-Japanese Diplomatic and Commercial Relations in the Seventeenth Century," Institute for Cultural Interaction Studies, Kansai University, ''The International Academic Forum for the Next Generation Series'', vol. 1 (March 2010), 22.</ref>
The earliest extant document reflecting communications between Nguyễn and Japan is a letter from Nguyễn Hoang dated [[1591]]. Addressed to the "King of Japan" and likely carried to Japan by a Japanese merchant active in regional maritime trade, the letter essentially offers gifts and asks for the establishment of formal relations.<ref>「ベトナムから秀吉に？「日本国王」あての書簡発見」, Asahi Shimbun, 17 April 2013.</ref> The outcome of this communication is unclear. However, Nguyễn is known to have contacted Japan again c. [[1599]]-[[1601]], after having captured the pirate [[Shirahama Kenki]], and requesting instructions as to what to do with him. Tokugawa Ieyasu's response, dated 1601, was long considered the earliest extant evidence of formal Vietnamese-Japanese relations, prior to the 2013 discovery of the 1591 document. In this 1601 letter, Ieyasu explained the [[shuinsen|red seal ship]] system - essentially, that authorized Japanese merchants possessed a license with an official red seal, and that others, who did not possess such a license, such as Shirahama, were under no protection of the Japanese authorities and could be dealt with as Nguyễn chose. Some fifteen letters exchanged between Nguyễn and Tokugawa, dated between 1601 and 1613, are known to be extant.<ref>Hoang Anh Tuan, "Vietnamese-Japanese Diplomatic and Commercial Relations in the Seventeenth Century," Institute for Cultural Interaction Studies, Kansai University, ''The International Academic Forum for the Next Generation Series'', vol. 1 (March 2010), 22.</ref>