Last week, the drawing lots of FIFA World Cup 2010 were held in South Africa. In shot, the opponents of Japan were decided. So I would like to introduce one of them, the Netherlands.
This country is between Germany and Belgium. We usually call it “Holland”, but the formal name is Kingdom of the Netherland. Where does “Holland” come from? It is derived from one of the state name. This state did an important role when a war broke out between Spain.
Between 1621 and 1847, this country was the only one that trades with Japan. The trade was done in Dejima which was in Nagasaki. Holland brought many European cultural things not only a world map but also medical science. So Japanese were very surprised and realized that they were old-fashioned people. If Holland had not come, Japan would have opened later.
In this way, Holland appears some times in Japanese history. There was an intimate relationship between Japan and Holland.
In the Edo period, Japanese people call knowledge which was introduced to Japan from Holland “Rangaku.” In Nagasaki, which was only area open to other countries, there are still many relics of the period. For example, Dutch Slope, Huis Ten Bosch, Battleship Island and so on. What do you think of present relationship between Japan and the Netherlands?
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