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Hoi An, located a short distance outside of Da Nang, was a major central [[Vietnam]]ese port in the early modern period, and home to a major ''[[Nihonmachi]]'' (Japantown) in the late 16th to early 17th centuries. Many European records refer to the city as Faifo.

Hoi An, located a short distance outside of Da Nang, was a major central [[Vietnam]]ese port in the early modern period, and home to a major ''[[Nihonmachi]]'' (Japantown) in the late 16th to early 17th centuries. Many European records refer to the city as Faifo.

The community, home to only a few tens of Japanese families, got its start in the late 16th century, when [[Ming Dynasty]] policies forbade Chinese merchants to trade directly with Japanese; though direct trade continued in great amounts, including in [[Nagasaki]] (i.e., in Japan proper), many Chinese and Japanese merchants also came to use Hoi An, among other Southeast Asian sites, as intermediary points, where they could trade safely.

The community, home to only a few tens of Japanese families, got its start in the late 16th century, when [[Ming Dynasty]] policies forbade Chinese merchants to trade directly with Japanese; though direct trade continued in great amounts, including in [[Nagasaki]] (i.e., in Japan proper), many Chinese and Japanese merchants also came to use Hoi An, among other Southeast Asian sites, as intermediary points, where they could trade safely.

The modern-day territory of Vietnam was at that time divided into three polities. The [[Trinh lords|Trinh family]] were lords of [[Tonkin]] in the north; the [[Nguyen lords|Nguyen]] were lords of [[Quang Nam]], also known as Quinam or Cochinchina, in central Vietnam; and the [[Champa]] polity of the non-Vietnamese [[Cham people]] constituted the south. While Japanese were active in both Champa and Tonkin in the 1590s-1630s, it was the Japanese community of Hoi An, the chief port of Nguyen-controlled Quang Nam, and the largest port in all of Vietnam,<ref>Alexander Woodside, “Central Vietnam's Trading World in the Eighteenth Century as Seen in Le Quy Don's 'Frontier Chronicles'” in Keith Taylor and John K. Whitmore (eds.), ''Essays into Vietnamese Pasts''. Cornell University (1995), 162.</ref> that was of particular prominence and influence in regional trade.

The modern-day territory of Vietnam was at that time divided into three polities. The [[Trinh lords|Trinh family]] were lords of [[Tonkin]] in the north; the Nguyen were lords of Quang Nam, also known as Quinam or Cochinchina, in central Vietnam; and the Champa polity of the non-Vietnamese [[Cham people]] constituted the south. While Japanese were active in both Champa and Tonkin in the 1590s-1630s, it was the Japanese community of Hoi An, the chief port of Nguyen-controlled Quang Nam, and the largest port in all of Vietnam,<ref>Alexander Woodside, “Central Vietnam's Trading World in the Eighteenth Century as Seen in Le Quy Don's 'Frontier Chronicles'” in Keith Taylor and John K. Whitmore (eds.), ''Essays into Vietnamese Pasts''. Cornell University (1995), 162.</ref> that was of particular prominence and influence in regional trade.

Roughly 42 [[red seal ships]] licenses were issued by the [[Tokugawa shogunate]] for trade with Quang Nam in [[1604]] to [[1616]].<ref>Geoffrey Gunn, ''History Without Borders: The Making of an Asian World Region, 1000-1800'', Hong Kong University Press (2011), 229.</ref> Over the total period from roughly 1590 to 1635, Hoi An constituted about one-quarter of all Japanese overseas trade activity, more than any other single port, and saw as many as ten Japanese ships each year.<ref>Chen Chingho A. ''Historical Notes on Hội An (Faifo)''. Carbondale, Illinois: Center for Vietnamese Studies, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, (1974), 13.</ref>

Roughly 42 [[red seal ships]] licenses were issued by the [[Tokugawa shogunate]] for trade with Quang Nam in [[1604]] to [[1616]].<ref>Geoffrey Gunn, ''History Without Borders: The Making of an Asian World Region, 1000-1800'', Hong Kong University Press (2011), 229.</ref> Over the total period from roughly 1590 to 1635, Hoi An constituted about one-quarter of all Japanese overseas trade activity, more than any other single port, and saw as many as ten Japanese ships each year.<ref>Chen Chingho A. ''Historical Notes on Hội An (Faifo)''. Carbondale, Illinois: Center for Vietnamese Studies, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, (1974), 13.</ref>