Brief Probe Of Nagasaki Hetaelae In Edo Period

The Sakoku in Japan came into being in the 17 th century. Since 1633, Bakufu published five seclusion orders in succession, thus the Sakoku policy established. The Nagasaki under Sakoku policy holds a special position in modern Japanese history. Among the four cities opening to the outside, it was the only one directly controlled by Bakufu and developed trade with foreigners. As part of the Sakoku, Bakufu constructed a man-made island Dejima in 1634, and moved the Dutch there from Hirato in 1641. In 1688, Bakufu set a Chinese settlement to assemble the Chinese who had sailed here and scattered in cities. The Chinese were confined to Chinese settlement and could not go out without permission, while the Dutch were confined to Dejima. In order to comfort the overseas Dutch and Chinese, Tokugawa Bakufu set a red-light district in Nagasaki, concentrating some Hetaelae here to serve them. The Hetaelae in red-light district of Nagasaki are called Nagasaki Hetaelae, including the Nihonnyuki who served the Japanese, the Toujinyuki serving the Chinese and the Olanda serving the Dutch.Nagasaki Hetaelae was a group providing erotic service for foreigners under Sakoku policy. This thesis will try to discuss and analyze the following questions: the reason of setting Nagasaki red-light district, Magistrate office in Nagasaki and Maruyama’s management on Hetaelae, the role of Nagasaki Hetaelae in trade, etc. This thesis will also try to explore the real life of Nagasaki Hetaelae and their relationship with Bakufu, Maruyama and Dutch and Chinese, on the basis of the organization and analysis of the criminal records in the Criminal Judgment Book, a modern judgment record of Magistrate Office in Nagasaki.There is a close contact between Nagasaki Hetaelae and Japanese foreign policy as well as the development of its trade with China and Netherlands. As the Kaikoku of Japan and the decline of Japanese trade with China and Netherlands, Nagasaki Hetaelae declined gradually, falling out of their initial function.