Nagasaki Images - Please Click Slideshow to View Collection

Nagasaki is an attractively situated port city on the island of Kyushu. As one of Japan's closest port cities to the Asian mainland with nearby access to China and Korea, Nagasaki played a prominent role in foreign trade relations for many centuries. The city was the most important of only a very few ports open to restricted numbers of foreign traders during Japan's long period of isolation from the rest of the world. Only Dejima, an "offshore" area was left open to Dutch traders, albeit with many restrictions. Once Japan opened up again to the world during the Meiji Period, Nagasaki was an important port of call for European, American and Chinese traders all who had a foothold here. During this period, "Madame Butterfly" was composed by Puccini about the relations between a European trader and his Japanese mistress.


Nagasaki Images - Images by John Lander