Why Nagasaki is my favourite Japanese city
in many people’s minds the city of Nagasaki is linked to its destruction by an atomic bomb at the end of the Second World War that bomb was detonated 500 m above this spot at 11:02 a.m on the 9th of August 1945 [Music] nagasaki today is a vibrant city [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] i enjoyed all of these things during my 12 days here last month if it weren’t for the bullet train one might say that Nagasaki’s location is remote however its port was ideally positioned to become the historical hub of maritime trade with China Korea Taiwan and beyond what makes Nagasaki so special today is I think its history of interaction with the outside world since at least the 16th century the city’s civic custodians are keen to tell that story to visitors foreigners came to Nagasaki and stayed for sometimes extended periods the former foreign settlements are well signposted and conserved they are well worth visiting during the so-called period of national seclusion the Dutch were the only Europeans permitted to trade with Japan the former Dutch settlement at Dejima Island has been painstakingly reconstructed on its original site a triumph of archaeology and engineering it attracts many visitors and rightly so [Music] this map at Dejima shows how Nagasaki was linked to the Netherlands by sea and to the many parts of the global Dutch Empire for more than 200 years a large range of products made their way to Japan in Dutch ships [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] you may know this Englishman as the main character in the TV series and novel Shogun [Music] no European women were allowed to come to the settlement but local cortisans were welcomed [Music] [Music] you can enjoy some quiet moments in the garden of one of the tea houses where liaison occurred [Music] the meeting of cultures at Nagasaki led to conflict too particularly over religion many Japanese in Nagasaki were converted to Christianity and the government banned the foreign religion this memorial marks the place where 26 Christians Japanese and European were crucified in 1597 [Music] some of these sword holders belonging to local samurai exhibit the shape of the cross [Music] after Japan lifted a lot of the restrictions on trade in the mid9th century this prime harborside property was developed by a young Scottish entrepreneur who played a significant role in Japan’s industrial and political revolutions of the time glover Garden is now a delightful place for visitors to spend a few hours thomas Blake Glover was 21 years old when he left his home in Abedine to take up employment with the firm Jardine and Mat he became involved in ship building and the arms trade and he introduced steam engines to Japan [Music] this crane was manufactured in Scotland for the Mitsubishi shipyard in Nagasaki in 1909 and it remains in operation today you might be able to make it out in this clip the green structure in the center glover spoke Japanese and formed an interracial family with his Japanese commonlaw wife and their daughter his house in Nagasaki shown here was built by Japanese carpenters and incorporated design features from British India glover died in Tokyo in 1911 nagasaki’s identity is grounded in stories of cultural interaction like glovers today the city vigorously advocates for global cooperation and peace [Music]
A reflection on my 12 days exploring the culture, history, and urban landscape of this beautiful and charming harbour city on the island of Kyushu.
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