Portrait of Yamada Nagamasa c.1630.

Yamada Nagamasa (Japanese: 山田長政 Yamada Nagamasa; 1590—1630) was a Japanese adventurer who gained considerable influence in Thailand at the beginning of the 17th century. He became the ruler of the Nakhon Si Thammarat province in southern Thailand. Portrait of Yamada Nagamasa. ... Portrait of Yamada Nagamasa. ... Events March 14 - Battle of Ivry - Henry IV of France again defeats the forces of the Catholic League under the Duc de Mayenne. ... Events February 22 - Native American Quadequine introduces Popcorn to English colonists. ... (16th century - 17th century - 18th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 17th century was that century which lasted from 1601-1700. ... Nakhon Si Thammarat (often in short Nakhon, Thai นครศรีธรรมราช) is one of the southern provinces (changwat) of Thailand, at the eastern shore of the Gulf of Thailand. ...

Yamada Nagamasa was born in Numazu in 1590. He is said to have been a palanquin bearer of the lord of Numazu. He became involved in Japanese trade activities with South-East Asia during the period of the Red seal ships and settled in the kingdom of Ayutthaya (modern-day Thailand) from around 1612. Numazu (沼津市; -shi) is a city located in Shizuoka, Japan. ... Numazu (沼津市; -shi) is a city located in Shizuoka, Japan. ... Location of Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is a subregion of Asia. ... A 1634 Japanese Red seal ship, incorporating Western-style square and lateen sails, rudder and aft designs. ... The kingdom of Ayutthaya was a Thai kingdom that existed from the 1350 to 1767. ... Events January 20 - Mathias becomes Holy Roman Emperor. ...

Japanese settlement in southeast Asia

Yamada Nagamasa lived in the Japanese quarters of Ayutthaya, home to another 7,000 Japanese inhabitants. The community was called "Ban Yipun" in Thai, and was headed by a Japanese chief nominated by Thai authorities. It seems to have been a combination of traders, Christians converts who had fled their home country following the persecutions of Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu, and unemployed former samurais who had been on the losing side at the battle of Sekigahara: Ayutthaya (full name Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya, Thai พระนครศรีอยุธยา; also spelled Ayudhya) city is the capital of Ayutthaya province in Thailand. ... Hideyoshi in old age. ... Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu Tokugawa Ieyasu (previously spelled Iyeyasu); 徳川 家康 (January 31, 1543 – June 1, 1616) was the founder of the Tokugawa bakufu of Japan which ruled from the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600 until the restoration of the monarchy in 1868. ... The Battle of Sekigahara (関ヶ原の戦い Sekigahara-no-tatakai) was a decisive battle on September 15, 1600 (on the ancient Chinese calendar, October 21 on the modern calendar) that cleared the path to the Shogunate for Tokugawa Ieyasu. ...

"From the years of Gen'na (1615-1624) through the later years of Kan'ei (1624-1644), the Ronin or warriors who lost their lords after the defeats of the battle of Osaka (1614-15) or the earlier battle of Sekigahara (1600), as well as the defeated Christians of the Shimabara uprising, went to settle in Siam in great numbers" (Senrakoku Fudo-gunki, 17th century, quoted by Uchida Ginzo).

The Christian community seems to have been in the hundreds, as described by Padre Antonio Francisco Cardim, who recounted having administered sacrament to around 400 Japanese Christians in 1627 in the Thai capital of Ayuthaya ("a 400 japoes christaos")(Ishii Yoneo, Multi-cultural Japan). Graves of 47 Ronin at Sengakuji A ronin (Japanese: rōnin 浪人: literally, wave man - one who is tossed about, like a wave in the sea) was a masterless samurai during the feudal period of Japan that lasted from 1185 to 1868. ... The Battle of Sekigahara (関ヶ原の戦い Sekigahara-no-tatakai) was a decisive battle on September 15, 1600 (on the ancient Chinese calendar, October 21 on the modern calendar) that cleared the path to the Shogunate for Tokugawa Ieyasu. ... Ayutthaya (also spelled Ayudhya or Ayuthia) refers to The old capital of Thailand, see Ayutthaya (city) The province around the city, Ayutthaya province The ruins of the old palace, see Ayutthaya historical park Ayutthaya kingdom as the period of Thai history (1365-1768) in which Ayutthaya was capital This is...

The colony was active in trade, particularly in the export of deer-hide to Japan in exchange for Japanese silver and Japanese handicrafts (swords, lacquered boxes, high-quality papers). They were noted by the Dutch for challenging the trade monopoly of the Dutch East India Company (VOC). The colony also had an important military role in Thailand. Dutch colonial possessions, with the Dutch East India Company possessions marked in a paler green, surrounding the Indian Ocean plus Saint Helena in the mid-Atlantic. ...

Military involvement and lordship

The army of Yamada Nagamasa in Thailand.

The Japanese colony was highly valued for its military expertise, and was organized under a "Department of Japanese Volunteers" (Krom Asa Yipun) by the Thai king. Army of Yamada Nagamasa. ... Army of Yamada Nagamasa. ...

In the space of fifteen years, Yamada Nagamasa rose from the low Thai nobility rank of khun to the senior of Okya, his title becoming Okya Senaphimuk. He became the head of the Japanese colony, and in this position supported the military campaigns of the Thai king Songtham, at the head of a Japanese army flying the Japanese flag. He fought successfully, and was finally nominated Lord of Nakhon Si Thammarat, in the southern peninsula.

Yamada Nagasama's fighting ship, 17th century painting.

In 1626, Nagamasa offered a painting of one of his fighting ships to a temple of his hometown in Shizuoka. That painting was lost in a fire, but a copy of it remains to this day (shown here). It portrays a ship with Western-style rigging, 18 cannons, and sailors in samurai gear. Yamada Nagasamas fighting ship. ... Yamada Nagasamas fighting ship. ... Events September 30 - Nurhaci, chieftain of the Jurchens and founder of the Qing Dynasty dies and is succeeded by his son Hong Taiji. ...

Nagamasa became involved in succession wars following the death of the King Songtham. He was wounded in combat in 1630, and then apparently poisoned through his wound, which led to his death.

Legacy

Nagamasa now rests in his hometown in the area of Otani. The remnants of the Japanese quarters in Ayutthuya are still visible to visitors, as well as a statue of Yamada in Siamese military uniform.

See also

• Red seal ships
• Hasekura Tsunenaga

A 1634 Japanese Red seal ship, incorporating Western-style square and lateen sails, rudder and aft designs. ... Hasekuras portrait during his mission in Rome in 1615, by Claude Deruet, Coll. ...

References

• "Red seal ships." Nagazumi Yoko, Japanese (朱印船、永積洋子) ISBN 4642066594.
• "Multicultural Japan" Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0521003628