Jan Joosten van Lodensteijn

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Sculpture of Jan Joosten, Yaesu, Tokyo.
Sculpture of Jan Joosten, Yaesu, Tokyo.

Jan Joosten van Lodensteijn (c. 1560 – 1623), or simply Jan Joosten, was a native of Delft and one of the first Dutchmen in Japan, arriving as one of William Adams's shipmates (the second mate) on the De Liefde, which landed disabled on the coast of Kyūshū in 1600.

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[edit] Early life in Japan

The De Liefde departed Rotterdam in 1598, on a trading voyage and attempted circumnavigation of the globe. It was wrecked in Japan in 1600, with 24 survivors. The survivors of the De Liefde were received by Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu, who questioned them at length on European politics and foreign affairs. As with William Adams, Jan Joosten was selected to be a confidant of the Shogun in foreign and military affairs, and he contributed to the development of relations between the Netherlands and Japan, thereby weakening the influence of Portugal and Spain.

For his services, Jan Joosten was granted a house in Edo (today's Tokyo) in a part of the city that came to be called "Yayosu Quay" after him — his name was pronounced yan yōs'ten in Japanese — and the name exists in the name of Yaesu side of Tokyo Station. Although not allowed to return to the Netherlands, Jan Joosten was permitted to take a Japanese wife and was given a permit to engage in foreign trade. He was allow allowed to wear the two swords designating the social rank of samurai , and received an annual stipend which placed him (along with Adams) among the ranks of the hatamoto or direct retainers of the Shogun. [1]

[edit] Trade between Japan and Southeast Asia

Jan Joosten is reported to have made a fortune in trade between Japan and Southeast Asia, chartering several Red Seal Ships under license from Tokugawa Ieyasu. He was reported by Dutch traders in Ayutthaya to be aboard richly cargoed junks in early 1613. After the establishment of the Dutch Factory in Hirado, he became a middleman between Dutch merchants and the Shogunate.

The Jan Joosten monument in Tokyo's Yaesu area, with his ship the Liefde.
The Jan Joosten monument in Tokyo's Yaesu area, with his ship the Liefde.

He is also related to have been to Siam on one of his ships, with the Japanese adventurer and author Tenjiku Tokubei.

Joosten was said to have a choleric temperament and drunken behavior, and at one point was not welcomed at Ieyasu's court anymore. Later, he attempted to return to the Netherlands, but after reaching Batavia, he was denied permission by Dutch authorities to proceed further. He drowned in the South China Sea in 1623 when his ship sank as he was returning to Japan.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  • Corr, Williams (1995). Adams the Pilot: The Life and Times of Captain William Adams. RoutledgeCurzon. ISBN 1873410441. 
  • Milton, Giles (2003). Samurai William: The Englishman Who Opened the East. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. ISBN 0374253854. 

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Corr, Adams the Pilot: The Life and Times of Captain William Adams. Pp.158