Japão e Portugal

to celebrate the Day of the Emperor of Japan's enthronement

Relations between Japan and Portugal are the diplomatic relations established between Japan and the Portuguese Republic. Portuguese sailors first arrived in Japan in 1543, but diplomatic relations between the two countries began in the 19th century.

The first affiliation made between Portugal and Japan began in the year 1543, when the Portuguese landed in the south of the Japanese archipelago. This period became known as the Nanban Trade Period, where Europeans and Asians began to develop mercantilism. Through the initiative made by Jesuit Gaspar Vilela and the Darim Omura Sumitada, Portugal founds the port of Nagasaki in 1571.

Expansion to trade increased Portuguese influence in Japan, especially in Quiuxu, where the port became a strategic hotspot after Portugal collaborated with the Daredevil Sumitada in repelling the Ryūzōji Clan attack on the port in 1578.

The first Portuguese ships moored in Japan carried cargoes such as silk and porcelain from China. The Japanese longed for these goods, which were forbidden to do foreign trade with the Chinese by the Emperor, as punishment for attacks by Wakō pirates. Therefore, the Portuguese acted as intermediaries in the Asian trade.

The Japanese were interested in Portuguese firearms. The first three Europeans to arrive in Japan in 1543 were the navigators António Mota, António Peixoto and Francisco Zeimoto (and also presumably Fernão Mendes Pinto). They arrived at the southern end of Tanegaxima, where they presented firearms to the local population. These muskets were named after the city Tanegashima.

Since Japan was in the midst of a civil war, called the Sengoku Period, the Japanese holstered Portuguese weapons to be lighter and better mechanisms with a precise purpose. The famous Dario Oda Nobunaga, who practically unified Japan, made extensive use of the Archangel weapons, playing the key role in the Battle of Nagashino. After a year, Japanese blacksmiths were able to reproduce the mechanism and began to mass-produce Portuguese weapons. And only just fifty years later, their armies were equipped with a series of weapons, perhaps larger than any contemporary army in Europe. Weapons were extremely important in the unification of Japan under Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu, as well as in the Japanese invasions of Korea in 1592 and 1597. Europeans brought not only weapons but also soap, tobacco and other unknown products in feudal Japan. .´