Japan–Portugal relations

Japan–Portugal relationsare the current and historical diplomatic, cultural and trade relations betweenJapanandPortugal. The history of relations between the two nations goes back to the mid-16th century, when Portuguese sailors first arrived in Japan in 1543, and diplomatic relations officially restarted in the 19th century with theTreaty of Peace, Amity and Commerce.
The Portuguese were the first Europeans to meet the Japanese, in the 16th century. The firearms they introduced subsequently had a great impact on the unification of Japan, and the followingera of tradespurred economic development. The Portuguese legacy in Japan includes, among other things, theNanban artand the gastronomic heritage (for exampletempuraor various sweet dishes such askonpeitōor thecastellacakes fromNagasaki), but also the linguistic heritage, which is reflected in several dozenPortuguese loanwords in the Japanese languagein geography, religion and everyday culture, for example bread.The Portuguese heritage in Japan is still present in the consciousness of Japanese society today.
Both nations are members of theWorld Trade Organization. Since 2014 Japan has had associate observer status in theCommunity of Portuguese Language Countries. In 2016, 440 Japanese citizens were registered in Portugaland 589 Portuguese were registered in Japan.
The first affiliation between Portugal and Japan started in 1543, when Portuguese explorers landed in the southern archipelago of Japan, becomingthe first Europeans to reach Japan. As soon as the first Portuguese arrived in 1543, Portuguese traders and merchants began looking for trading opportunities in Japan. This period of time is often entitledNanban trade, where both Portuguese and Japanese would engage inmercantilismand cultural exchange.
The Portuguese at this time wouldfound the portofNagasaki, through the initiative of theJesuitGaspar Vilela and theDaimyolordŌmura Sumitada, in 1571, where the annual trade ships arrived from then on.
The expansion for commerce extended Portuguese influence in Japan, particularly inKyushu, where the port became astrategic hot spotafter the Portuguese assistance to Daimyo Sumitada on repelling an attack on the harbor by theRyūzōji clanin 1578.
The cargo of the first Portuguese ships (calledkurofune, "Black Ships", by the Japanese) upon docking in Japan were basically cargo coming from China (silk, porcelain, etc.). The Japanese craved these goods, which were prohibited from the contacts with the Chinese by the Emperor as punishment for the attacks of theWokoupiracy. Thus, the Portuguese acted as intermediaries in Asian trade. Many products and cultural aspects flowed into Japan from Portugal, while silver and other goods from Japan flowed into Portugal.
In 1592 the Portuguese trade with Japan started being increasingly challenged by Chinese smugglers on their reeds, in addition to Spanish vessels coming to Manila in 1600, the Dutch in 1609, and English in 1613.
One of the many things that the Japanese were interested in were Portuguese guns.
The first Europeans to arrive in Japan in 1543 were Portuguese tradersAntónio Mota,Francisco Zeimoto. They arrived at the southern tip ofTanegashima, where they would introduce firearms to the local population. Thesemusketswould laterreceive the name after its location.
Because Japan was in the midst of a civil war, called theSengoku period, the Japanese bought many Portuguese artillery, such as guns (arquebus) and cannons.Oda Nobunaga, a famous daimyo who nearly unified all of Japan, made extensive use of guns playing a key role in theBattle of Nagashino. Within a year, Japanese smiths were able to reproduce the mechanism and began to mass-produce the Portuguese arms. Early issues due to Japanese inexperience was corrected with the help of Portuguese blacksmiths. The Japanese soon worked on various techniques to improve the effectiveness of their guns and even developed larger caliber barrels and ammunition to increase lethality. And just 50 years later, his armies were equipped with a large number of such weapons, changing the way war was fought on the islands. The weapons were extremely important in the unification of Japan underToyotomi HideyoshiandTokugawa Ieyasu, as well as in theinvasions of Koreain 1592 and 1597. Europeans brought by trade not only weapons, but also clocks, soap, tobacco, and other unknown products inFeudal Japan.
A Portuguese trader set off fromMalaccafor Japan in 1547 and wrote the first detailed report about Japan forFrancisco Xavier. Motivated by the report, Xavier traveled through Japan between 15 August 1549 and 15 November 1551, starting inKagoshima. He laid the foundation for theJesuits' missionary activity and thus introducedChristianity to Japan. Other Portuguese Jesuits likeFrancisco CabralandGaspar Coelhovisited Japan in 1570 and continued to carry outChristianmissionary activities in Kyushu, later leading several lords of the region to Christianize.Tenshō envoyswere also sent to Europe in the late sixteenth century. The Jesuits initially missionized exclusively, then in competition with other Christian monastic orders, but also significantly promoted cultural, scientific, institutional, business and diplomatic exchange.
In addition to the religious aspect, European culture was taught there in many areas, such as music, theater andWestern paintingandart. They published printed matter inLatin, Portuguese and romanized and transcribed Japanese and spread knowledge in areas such as cartography, astronomy, medicine, military, and gastronomy. Portuguese Jesuits also played a role in writing several works about the Japanese language and society. Publications include the firstJapanese-to-Portuguese dictionaryandJapanese grammar, the latter byJoão Rodrigues, in the early 1600s, which took more than four years to compile and have become valuable resources for philological studies of Japanese and Portuguese today. Other important works include the books "The First European Description of Japan" and "Historia de Iapam" byLuís Fróisand "História da Igreja do Japão" (also by João Rodrigues) on the history of Japan.
In 1556 JesuitLuís de Almeida, who disseminated surgical and other medical knowledge from Europe to Japan, founds the first hospital with European medicine in Japan, a leprosy ward and a kindergarten inŌita.
With the decree against Christianity in Japan in 1587 and the expulsion of missionaries from 1614 onwards, the persecution of Christians in Japan began, which ended in 1639 with the expulsion of the Jesuits and the Portuguese from Japan. As early as 1625,Francisco Pacheco, head of the Jesuit mission in Japan, was executed at the gates of Nagasaki. The Portuguese missionaryCristóvão Ferreira, who arrived in Japan in 1610, contributed to the tense situation on the issue with his varied role until he was executed there around 1650. The Buddhist monks in Japan, who feared for their power, also pushed for the expulsion.
After the Portuguese first made contact with Japan in 1543, Japanese slaves were sold to the Portuguese and sent to various locations overseas, including Portugal itself, throughout the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.Documents mention the slave trade along with protests against the enslavement of Japanese, initially issued by King Sebastian of Portugal to the Daimyo of Japan, to stop the enslavement and transport of the Japanese. Hundreds of Japanese, especially women, were sold as slaves.Japanese slaves are believed to be the first of their nation to end up in Europe, and the Portuguese purchased Japanese to bring to Portugal for sexual purposes, as noted by the Church in 1555.King Sebastianfeared that it was having a negative effect on trade between the countries and Catholic evangelization since the slave trade in Japanese was growing to larger proportions, so he commanded that it be banned in 1571.
Japanese slave women were even sold asconcubines, serving on Portuguese ships and trading in Japan, mentioned by Luis Cerqueira, a Portuguese Jesuit, in a 1598 document.Japanese slaves were brought by the Portuguese toMacau, where some of them not only ended up being enslaved to the Portuguese, but as slaves to other slaves, with the Portuguese owning Malay and African slaves, who in turn owned Japanese slaves of their own.
Hideyoshi was so disgusted that his own Japanese people were being sold en masse into slavery in Kyushu, that he wrote a letter to Jesuit Vice-Provincial Gaspar Coelho on 24 July 1587 to demand the Portuguese, Siamese (Thai), and Cambodians stop purchasing Japanese slaves and return those who ended up as far as India.Hideyoshi blamed the Portuguese and Jesuits for this slave trade and banned Christian evangelization as a result.Historians have noted, however, that anti-Portuguese propaganda was actively promoted by the Japanese, particularly with regards to the Portuguese purchases of Japanese women for sexual purposes.
Some Korean slaves were bought by the Portuguese and brought back to Portugal from Japan, where they had been among the tens of thousands of Korean prisoners of war transported to Japan during theJapanese invasions of Korea (1592–98).Historians pointed out that at the same time Hideyoshi expressed his indignation and outrage at the Portuguese trade in Japanese slaves, he himself was engaging in a mass slave trade of Korean prisoners of war in Japan.Japanese Christiandaimyos were mainly responsible for selling to the Portuguese their fellow Japanese. Japanese women and Japanese men, Javanese, Chinese, and Indians were all sold as slaves in Portugal.Japanese and other Asians captured in battle were also sold by their compatriots to the Portuguese as slaves, but the Japanese would also sell family members they could not afford to sustain because of the civil-war. According to Prof.Charles Boxer, both old and modern Asian authors have "conveniently overlooked" their part in the enslavement of their countrymen.
Fillippo Sassetti saw some Chinese and Japanese slaves inLisbonamong the large slave community in 1578.
In 1595 a law was passed by Portugal banning the selling and buying of Chinese and Japanese slaves.
When formal trade relations were established in 1609 by requests from EnglishmanWilliam Adams, the Dutch were granted extensive trading rights and set up aDutch East India Companytrading outpost atHirado. They traded exotic Asian goods such as spices, textiles, porcelain, and silk. When theShimabara uprisingof 1637 happened, in whichChristianJapanese started a rebellion against theTokugawa shogunate, it was crushed with the help of the Dutch. As a result, all Christian nations who gave aid to the rebels were expelled, leaving the Dutch the only commercial partner from the West. Among the expelled nations was Portugal who had a trading post inNagasakiharbor on an artificial island calledDejima. In a move of the shogunate to take the Dutch trade away from the Hirado clan, the entire Dutch trading post was moved to Dejima.
Significant official Japanese-Portuguese exchanges only took place again since theMeiji period. Following the opening of Japan to trade with the west in the 1850s, the Shogun's government became more receptive to reestablishing diplomatic relations with the Portuguese government. Acting as a representative of Portugal, the governor of Macau, Isidoro Francisco Guimarães, agreed. On 3 August 1860, acommercial and peace treatywas concluded between the two countries and their old diplomatic relations were reestablished between them.
Afterwards, a large number of Portuguese from Macau and Shanghai moved to Japan, where they worked in trading companies or authorities. From this immigrant community grew, among other things: the Portuguese schools ofKōbeandYokohama.
Wenceslau de Moraesin particular made a great contribution to the Portuguese presence in Japan as a diplomatic and economic mediator. The naval officer lived with his Japanese wife in Kōbe from 1898 to 1913 and was initially the Portuguese consul there and inOsakabefore heading the Portuguese consulate general inKobefrom 1912. Until his death inTokushima, he wrote several important books on the subject.
InWorld War I, Portugal and Japan participated together in the war on theAlliedside. After the war, nine countries, including Japan and Portugal, attended theWashington Naval Conferenceof 1922, where they both ratified theNine-Power Treaty.
During theSecond World War, both countries had a complicated relationship. Portugal was officially neutral; while it was aligned more closely with theAllies, it adhered to strict neutrality in East Asia, to protect its territories of Macau and East Timor. Initially, Japan respected the neutrality of both territories. Macau, in particular, become a haven for Allied civilian refugees. To varying, degrees, however, both Macau and East Timor later came under de facto control of Japan, until the end of the war. During this time, diplomatic relations were temporarily disrupted.
In early 1942, as Japanese forces advanced rapidly through theDutch East Indies, Portugal declined all requests for cooperation from the Allies, who believed that East Timor would become the site of major Japanese bases. Nevertheless, Portugal did not object, when Australian and Dutch forces landed unilaterally in East Timor, to set up defensive positions. In the subsequentTimor campaign, the indigenous Timorese and other Portuguese subjects assisted the Allies and suffered reprisals from Japanese forces. The Allies withdrew in 1943 and East Timor remained under de facto Japanese occupation until late 1945, when Japanese troops in East Timor surrendered to the Portuguese governor.
Meanwhile, the Portuguese authorities in Macau were coming under increasing pressure to cooperate with the Japanese military. In August 1943, Japanese troops seized a British-registered steamer in the harbor of Macau. Soon afterwards, Japan issued an ultimatum to Portugal, demanding that the territorial  government accept the installation of Japanese advisors, and threatening direct occupation. Portugal acceded to Japanese demands and Macau effectively became a Japanese protectorate. Believing that Japan had or would get access to stores of aviation fuel in Macau, US forces launched several air raids on the territory. In 1950, the US government compensated the Portuguese government with US$20M, for the damage caused in Macau by US air raids.In 1945 the Japanese finally withdrew and gave East Timor back to Portugal.
In 1952, Japan regained its sovereignty by issuing theTreaty of San Francisco, and diplomatic relations between Portugal and Japan were restored the following year in 1953. In the same year, Portugal established an embassy in Japan (Tokyo) and Japan in Portugal (Lisbon) in 1954. Since then, Portugal has undergone major changes from thedictatorshipofAntónio Salazarto democratization through theCarnation Revolutionand membership in theEuropean Economic Communityand the European Union, and has lost its remaining territory in Asia with theindependence of East Timorandhandover of Macau.
Relations between Portugal and Japan have since remained good and friendly. In 1993, events commemorating the 450th anniversary of the arrival of the Portuguese to Tanegashima were held. In the same year, PresidentMário Soaresvisited Japan andPrincess Hisako Takamadovisited Portugal.
In 1998, theLisbon World Expositionwas held under the theme "The Oceans: a Heritage for the Future", withEmperor AkihitoandEmpress Michikomaking their first visit to Portugal.
In 2004, the then prince and current emperorNaruhitotraveled to Portugal.
In 2010 and 2020, a number of cultural and sporting events (such as Japanese film,animeshows, judo events andcalligraphyexhibitions and workshops) were held in Portugal to commemorate the 150th and 160th anniversaries of diplomatic relations and friendship between the two countries since the 19th century.
In Nagasaki, theKunchifestival is celebrated annually and features the arrival and presence of the Portuguese in the city in the 16th century.
Unlike in the 16th and 17th centuries, the current relationship between the two countries has little influence on each other's political situation, and economic ties are also relatively small. In 2010, exports from Japan amounted to $479,858,000 and exports from Portugal amounted to $270,635,000, representing a significant export surplus on the Japanese side. The proportion of total exports is only 0.06%, and the proportion of exports from Portugal in Japan's imports is 0.04%. Even among the 27 EU member countries, Portugal remains Japan's 18th largest partner country in terms of export value and 19th largest in terms of import value.The share of Portugal's trade with Japan in its total exports and imports was approximately 0.5–0.6% in 2009,and while intra-EU trade accounts for approximately 74% of total exports and imports, the contribution of trade with Japan is small. Japan's exports have a high share of passenger and freight vehicles, auto parts, and electrical equipment, while Portugal's main exports include clothing and accessories, vegetables, fish, wine, and cork. Natural cork in particular has a high market share in Japan.
In February 2011,Nissanstarted construction of a plant to producelithium-ion batteriesforelectric vehiclesinAveiro, Portugal. This will be located on the site ofRenault's transmission assembly plant, and production is scheduled to begin in December 2012. This is a large-scale business deal in which Nissan Europe will invest approximately 17.5 billion yen.
In 2016, with an overnight spending of 29.7 million euros, Japanese tourists accounted for a share of 0.23% of foreign tourists in Portugal.
Although the economic relationship between the two countries has diminished since Japan'sisolation, there are still relatively large ties in terms of culture and academics, especially within Japan. Portugal was the first European nation to have direct negotiations with Japan, and the cultural artifacts imported at that time, such as buttons,playing cards, wine and severalJapanese sweetsandfoods(such astempura,konpeito, andcastella), are still called by names of Portuguese origin and have left a legacy that has become entrenched in Japanese society. Likewise, some words of Japanese origin have also made their way into Portuguese vocabulary, and several pieces of Japanese culture like food,anime,manga, and Japanese technology are also popular in Portugal.
In terms of academics, Jesuit missionaryLuís Fróishas left behind valuable records that provide a glimpse intofeudal Japan, such asThe First European Description of Japan, published in 1585, andHistoria de Iapam("History of Japan" in old-fashioned Portuguese). Another person worth mentioning isWenceslau de Moraes, a diplomat who lived in Japan from 1899 to 1929 and died inTokushimaafter Japan opened up in the 19th century after isolation during theEdo period. He left behind essays about Japan and the Japanese people. In some parts ofYamaguchi Prefecture(such as Shunan City), there is a surname of Portuguese origin called Tobacco Dani.
The Portuguese cultural instituteInstituto Camõesis active in Japan, represented with a cultural center in Tokyo and a large number of lectureships at various Japanese universities.There are also a number of Portuguese-Japanese friendship societies, such as theSociedade Luso-Nipónica.
In addition, many Japanese immigrants came to Brazil from the end of the 19th century, a former colony of Portugal where Portuguese is still the official language, and from the 1980s their descendants began working in Japanese manufacturing factories. As a result, opportunities for Japanese people to come into contact with Portuguese increased. Many Brazilian players participated in theJapan Professional Football League, which was launched in 1993.Football terms such as "volante" became established in Japan. It has been pointed out that there are significant differences in pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar betweenPortugal's Portugueseand Brazilian Portuguese, and much of the Portuguese taught in Japan is Brazilian, but there is generally no problem in communication itself, which also applies to Portuguese people.
The Portuguese directorPaulo Rochalived in Japan from 1975 to 1983, and he featured Japan several times in his films. Particularly worth mentioning is "Portugaru San – O Sr. Portugal em Tokushima" shot in 1993, a film about the Portuguese diplomat and author Wenceslau de Moraes. In 1996,João Mário Grilomade "Os Olhos da Ásia", a film about the history of the Portuguese Jesuits in Japan. 20 years later,Martin Scorseserevisited the story inSilence(2016), but limited himself to theoriginal novelbyEndō Shūsaku.In 2016, the Portuguese director Cláudia Varejão portrayed the everyday life of three women who have been diving together in a small fishing village on theShima Peninsulafor 30 years with her documentaryAma-San. The film screened at a number of film festivals, where it also won several awards, including the LisbonDoclisboa, the CzechKarlovy Vary International Film Festival, the RussianSt. PetersburgMessage to Man Film Festivaland the KosovoDokufest. In 2024, the TV seriesShōgunaired, based on theoriginal novelbyJames Clavell.
The award-winning short filmTóquio Porto 9 horasby the Portuguese director João Nuno Brochado uses black and white split-screen technology to compare everyday life in the two cities of Tokyo andPorto, which are separated by a time difference of nine hours. Japanese director Hiroatsu Suzuki and Portuguese director Rosanna Torres worked together in 2012 to makeO Sabor do Leite Creme, a documentary about an old couple in a Portuguese mountain village. The Japanese cameraman Takashi Sugimoto has worked several times for Portuguese productions. The Portuguese film instituteCinemateca Portuguesashowed film cycles on Japanese film several times, around 2012.Japanese directors are more frequent guests at Portuguese film festivals. Occasionally they also receive awards there, such as Atsushi Wada, who won the award for best animation at the most important Portuguese short film festivalCurtas Vila do Condein 2011 for "Wakaranai Buta". In 2014,Hiroyuki Tanakawon "Miss Zombie"at theFantasportofilm festival in Porto.
Infootball, professional Portuguese footballer,Cristiano Ronaldo, is also renown among Japanese football fans. Japanese football players also play more frequently in Portugal, including international players such asTakahito SōmaorDaizen Maeda(bothMarítimo Funchal),Nozomi HiroyamaatSporting BragaorJunya TanakaatSporting Lisbon. ThePortimonense SCclub particularly frequently signs players from Japan, includingMū Kanazaki,Shoya Nakajima,Takuma Nishimura,Shiryū Fujiwara,Kōki Anzaiand most recentlyKodai NagashimaandHiroki Sugajima.Kazuya Onoharahas been playing forUD Oliveirensesince 2020, andKaito Anzaihas been playing for Sporting Braga since 2019.
TheJapan women's national football teamparticipated in the2011 Algarve Cupand finished in 3rd place.
In basketball, Isabel Lemos was the first Portuguese coach ever working in a profissional league inRizing Zephyr Fukuokasenior male team of theB.League, as well as the first woman ever working as coach in professional basketball man league in Japan.
As a result of the Portuguese arrival to Japan, after a continuous influx of trade between Portugal and Japan, Japanese vocabulary absorbedwords of Portuguese originas well as Portuguese of Japanese. Among its great part, these words mainly refer to products and customs that arrived through Portuguese traders.
Portuguese was the first Western language to have a Japanese dictionary, theNippo Jisho(日葡辞書, Nippojisho) dictionary or "Vocabulario da Lingoa de Iapam" ("Vocabulary of the Language of Japan" in old-fashioned Portuguese orthography), as well as the oldest extant complete Japanese grammar, theArte da Lingoa de Iapam("Art of the Japanese Language"), compiled by Jesuits such asJoão Rodrigues, published in Nagasaki between 1603 and 1608.
Judo has been practiced in Portugal since a demonstration by two officers of theImperial Japanese Navywhile anchored in Lisbon in the early 20th century. Since its founding in 1959, the Portuguese umbrella organization Federação Portuguesa de Judo has been organizing Japanese martial arts in Portugal. The country hosted the2008 European Judo Championshipsand finished eighth with one gold and three bronze medals. At the1995 World Judo Championshipsin Japan, Portugal won a bronze medal, as well as in 2003, while in 2010 it brought home a silver medal from Japan. Judo is one of the sports of theJogos da Lusofonia, the games of thePortuguese-speakingworld.
Other Japanese martial arts are also practiced in an organized manner in Portugal, particularlyJiu Jitsu, Karate andAikidō.
Portuguese and culture has also been introduced to Japan through music and martial arts, andFadohas fans in Japan as well, with Portuguese musicians and singers such asAmália Rodrigues,Maria João Pires,Dulce PontesandCarlos do Carmohaving become known among music lovers in Japan, both through performances and publications. The Japanese conductorTakuo Yuasaworked several times in Portugal. Most recently, he led the Orquestra Sinfónica do Porto Casa da Música, the 96-piece symphony orchestra of theCasa da MúsicainPorto, in the two sold-out New Year's concerts there on 3 and 4 January 2020.
Multiple cities in both countries are in partnership or are striving to do so. The first Japanese-Portuguesetown twinningwas established in 1969 betweenTokushimaandLeiria.