Dejima — The Only Window to the West for 200 Years

Dejima was an artificial fan-shaped island built in 1636 to confine Portuguese traders, and later (1641–1859) served as the only point of contact between Japan and the Western world during the sakoku isolation period. The Dutch East India Company maintained a trading post here with 15–20 Dutch residents who were forbidden to leave the island. All Western knowledge entering Japan for 200 years — medicine, astronomy, military technology, art — passed through Dejima's warehouses.

The original island was absorbed into land reclamation in 1904, but modern reconstruction has restored 5 of the original 25 buildings based on archaeological excavation and Dutch East India Company archives. The rebuilt warehouses, residences, and offices recreate the spatial experience of the trading post.