Dejima is a man-made island built by 25 wealthy merchants in the early 17th century. It was when some Portuguese ships arrived around the harbor of Nagasaki and started Christian missions there. In the begining, Tokugawa Shogunate or Japanese government welcomed them because Portuguese brought various products from aborad and began trading with Japan. As it went, however, they thought Christianity as a threat of colonizing Japan. Around the period, many Asian countries had been colonized by Christian nations. Then the government made an artificial island called Dejima, and locked Portuguese on the island. Later on, Christianity was outlawed in Japan and Portuguese were deported. After they left, Dutch people came in the island. A branch of Dutch East India Company in Hirado, the northern Nagasaki, moved into Dejima, and around 15 Dutch lived there to be engaed in business with the government. You can learn about how Dejima flourished with foerign trade while Japan closed the country and Dutch people lived their life under the control of the government.
