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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>

In [[1604]], Nguyễn formally adopted the Japanese merchant [[Funamoto Yaheiji]]. From then on, he had Yaheiji serve as his official representative in communications and relations with Japan.<ref>Li, Tana. ''Nguyễn Cochinchina: Southern Vietnam in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries''. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University, 1998. p64.</ref>

In [[1604]], Nguyễn formally adopted the Japanese merchant [[Funamoto Yaheiji]]. From then on, he had Yaheiji serve as his official representative in communications and relations with Japan.<ref>Li, Tana. ''Nguyễn Cochinchina: Southern Vietnam in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries''. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University, 1998. p64.</ref>

 

In his final years, Nguyen Hoang led his domain in expanding to the south. Quang Nam was already considered a rebellious and somewhat Other South, as compared to the Trinh north, based at Hanoi, the center of traditional Vietnamese political identity & culture; just as Vietnam as a whole was considered a somewhat exotic South in Chinese conceptions, so was Quang Nam seen from the Trinh perspective. The split between north and south marked a significant moment in the ongoing development of Vietnamese identity, as Nguyen lands now represented a new and additional Vietnamese identity, beyond that of the north. Now, Nguyen was expanding even further south, absorbing formerly Cham lands, stemming from a significantly less Sinicized, Austronesian, cultural foundation.<ref>Taylor, 62.</ref>

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