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The Japanese community in Ayutthaya got its start around the 1570s, as Japanese ronin, merchants, smugglers, adventurers, and the like began to settle there. As early as [[1593]], there were by some accounts as many as five hundred Japanese resident in the city.<ref>Polenghi, 25.</ref> Some came to be employed by the royal court, as bodyguards, or in other capacities, and by the 1620s, Japan was Ayutthaya's most major trade partner. The head of the ''Nihonmachi'', elected by the community and approved by the court, oversaw both the community and incoming & outgoing trade, and served as liaison or representative to the court.<ref name=pol23/>

The Japanese community in Ayutthaya got its start around the 1570s, as Japanese ronin, merchants, smugglers, adventurers, and the like began to settle there. As early as [[1593]], there were by some accounts as many as five hundred Japanese resident in the city.<ref>Polenghi, 25.</ref> Some came to be employed by the royal court, as bodyguards, or in other capacities, and by the 1620s, Japan was Ayutthaya's most major trade partner. The head of the ''Nihonmachi'', elected by the community and approved by the court, oversaw both the community and incoming & outgoing trade, and served as liaison or representative to the court.<ref name=pol23/>

Ayutthaya made a habit of having foreigners as royal guards, and the Japanese were preceded by the Portuguese, with whom the kingdom signed a treaty in [[1516]]; some 120 Portuguese were hired by the king in [[1534]] to serve as members of his guard. The Portuguese were followed by the Japanese, who were then followed in turn by Chams and Malays as the dominant group within the Siamese royal guard.<ref>Polenghi, 22.</ref> More than twenty Japanese merchant houses, along with some number of independent individual sailors, were active in trading between Ayutthaya and Nagasaki each year, and the kingdom enjoyed formal relations with the [[Tokugawa shogunate]] as well, beginning in [[1606]], and received arms and other supplies from the shogunate to aid in Ayutthaya's defense against periodic [[Burma|Burmese]] attacks.<ref>Khien Theeravit. “Japanese-Siamese Relations, 1606-1629” in Chaiwat Khamchoo and E. Bruce Reynolds (eds.) ''Thai-Japanese Relations in Historical Perspective''. Bangkok: Innomedia Co. Ltd. Press (1988), 22, 26-27.</ref> Following an unofficial mission which nevertheless was received in audience by the shogun in [[1612]], Ayutthaya sent official missions to Japan in [[1616]], [[1623]], [[1626]], and [[1629]], informing the shogun in each case of the succession of a new king of Ayutthaya.<ref name=gunn222/>

Ayutthaya made a habit of having foreigners as royal guards, and the Japanese were preceded by the Portuguese, with whom the kingdom signed a treaty in [[1516]]; some 120 Portuguese were hired by the king in [[1534]] to serve as members of his guard. The Portuguese were followed by the Japanese, who were then followed in turn by Chams and Malays as the dominant group within the Siamese royal guard.<ref>Polenghi, 22.</ref> More than twenty Japanese merchant houses, along with some number of independent individual sailors, were active in trading between Ayutthaya and Nagasaki each year, and the kingdom enjoyed formal relations with the [[Tokugawa shogunate]] as well, beginning in [[1606]], and received arms and other supplies from the shogunate to aid in Ayutthaya's defense against periodic [[Burma|Burmese]] attacks.<ref>Khien Theeravit. “Japanese-Siamese Relations, 1606-1629” in Chaiwat Khamchoo and E. Bruce Reynolds (eds.) ''Thai-Japanese Relations in Historical Perspective''. Bangkok: Innomedia Co. Ltd. Press (1988), 22, 26-27.</ref> Following an unofficial mission which nevertheless was received in audience by the shogun in [[1612]], Ayutthaya sent official diplomatic missions to Japan in [[1616]], [[1621]], [[1623]], [[1625]], [[1626]], and [[1629]].<ref name=gunn222/><ref>Polenghi, 41.</ref>

In [[1610]], King [[Ekathotsarot]] was succeeded by [[Songtham]]; that same year, the kingdom suppressed a Laotian invasion and an uprising by Japanese merchants, and established a royal guard consisting of Japanese. This guard eventually came to be headed by the ronin adventurer [[Yamada Nagamasa]]. Other Nagasaki merchants were similarly rewarded for their service in helping defend the kingdom from Burmese invasions. [[Kiya Kyuzaemon|Kiya Kyûzaemon]] was appointed to succeed [[Arima Sugihiro]] as head of the ''Nihonmachi'', and Tsuda Matazaemon was permitted to marry a daughter of the king.<ref name=gunn222/><ref>Polenghi, 40.</ref>

In [[1610]], King [[Ekathotsarot]] was succeeded by [[Songtham]]; that same year, the kingdom suppressed a Laotian invasion and an uprising by Japanese merchants, and established a royal guard consisting of Japanese. This guard eventually came to be headed by the ronin adventurer [[Yamada Nagamasa]]. Other Nagasaki merchants were similarly rewarded for their service in helping defend the kingdom from Burmese invasions. [[Kiya Kyuzaemon|Kiya Kyûzaemon]] was appointed to succeed [[Arima Sugihiro]] as head of the ''Nihonmachi'', and Tsuda Matazaemon was permitted to marry a daughter of the king.<ref name=gunn222/><ref>Polenghi, 40.</ref>