On 25 August the exhibition ‘From here to Tokyo – 400 years of trade with Japan’ will be opened in De Verdieping van Nederland (The Legacy of the Netherlands), the communal exhibition area of the Koninklijke Bibliotheek - the National Library of the Netherlands (KB) - and the National Archives (NA) in The Hague. The opening will be attended by their Imperial Highnesses Prince and Princess Akishino of Japan and their Royal Highnesses Prince Constantijn and Princess Laurentien of the Netherlands. Dr. R.H.A. Plasterk, Minister of Education, Culture and Science, will act as host. The highlight of the exhibition is the famous Handelspas (trade pass) – the deed of safe-conduct with which the Japanese Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu gave permission to the VOC in 1609 to trade with Japan.
Exclusive trading partner
In cooperation with Professor Willem van Gulik, professor at Leiden University and great authority on the historical relations between Japan and the Netherlands, the most beautiful and historically important pieces from the KB and the NA have been selected for this exhibition. Special attention is given to the period from 1609 to halfway through the 19th century. During this period the Netherlands was, for well over 200 years (from 1639 to 1858), the only country in the world that was allowed to trade with Japan. In addition, particular attention is paid to the relationship between Japan and our House of Orange.
The Emperor’s demands
In addition to the Handelspas the exhibit will contain/showcase, among other things, a number of documents in which ‘the Demands of the Emperor’ are recorded: the Shogun had a detailed description drawn up of which curiosities he wished to receive from the Netherlands. He ordered, for instance, among other things, horses, a diving bell for use by pearl divers and Delft Blue porcelain. The selection of pieces from the collections of the Koninklijke Bibliotheek and the National Archives is supplemented with a number of pieces on loan from the Royal Archives and the National Museum of Ethnology, such as a Japanese cartoon of King William III from 1861.
Minister Plasterk on the exhibition: “We may count ourselves lucky that Professor Willem van Gulik – a pre-eminent authority on Japan – was prepared to act as guest curator. Thanks in part to his contribution, in combination with the magnificent collections from our national cultural institutions, everyone can now see how many beautiful and fascinating objects Japanese-Dutch relations have yielded.”