A tale of one city: actors of globalization versus bakufu hegemony in early modern Nagasaki, c. 1571-1800

Abstract

This dissertation examines the way encounters between merchants (foreign and domestic) and Japanese political and semi-political figures in Nagasaki influenced the shaping and execution of Tokugawa foreign policy designs. In doing so, this study challenges the old image of Nagasaki as a city where the bakufu reigned supreme. Rather, Nagasaki was a place where multiple parties, each with their own agenda's looking out for their own interest, and those parties directly related to the bakufu were not always the dominant ones. As such, there was ample room for negotiation and deviation from Tokugawa policy. In this regard, Nagasaki resembled the domains that were also entrusted with the execution of Tokugawa foreign policy.