Many thanks to the guests who participated in the tour of that day. We hosted 8 people from USA. It was a very hot, humid and sunny day with strong sunlight. It is getting hotter day by day. When you visit Japan this time of the year, be sure to bring water and cooling tools with you outside.
As promised, photos taken during the tour are posted to recall fun time we shared together.
The East Garden we guide through was a castle premises of Shogun, commander in chief of all Samurai lords in Japan. During the period when Shogun governed Japan, the country was in seclusion period, restricting trade with foreign nations. That is what we explain.
So you might think Shogun lacked international perspectives when it comes to handling political matters. Surprisingly the 1st Shogun who founded the castle and 15 generations of dynasty in the early 17th century had two European retainers.
Interestingly enough, one of them became a town name around Tokyo Station where we meet. We meet at Marunouchi Central Gate. That is Marunouchi side of the station with red brick classical western-style building. Marunouchi is the town name facing the station.
The opposite is called Yaesu side. The town name Yaesu is named after a Dutch retainer serving Shogun, Jan Joosten (Yan Yoosten in Dutch pronunciation).
In the underground mall of Yaesu town, the memorial statue and the description board are exhibited.
Joosten was one of the two European ship navigators who were cast away to a coast of Southern Japan in 1600, several years before Tokugawa Shogunate unified Japan. The other is a British man, William Adams, who is very famous as a model of protagonist in American TV mini-series “Shogun.” Shogun saved them and took good care of them due to the knowledge they had. They were given Samurai titles and Japanese wives. Joosten was given a residence near the current Tokyo Station.
The two helped Shogun with Japan’s trade with Western nations giving advice for diplomacy. Shogun was advised not to let Spanish Catholic priests spread Christianity because it was part of colonization scheme of Spanish empire of that time. The two were from Protestant nations so they were against Catholic nations such as Spain and Portugal.
Then Shogun decided to ban Christianity in Japan. It was brutal forcing existing followers to renounce their faith, otherwise torturing to death as depicted in the film “Silence” directed by Martin Scorsese.
But since it was done, Japan was not colonized by the imperialist of that time and could protect its sovereignty.
No wonder the East Garden, former Shogun’s castle attracts so many international visitors as Shogun had very international perspectives by including international retainers. If you join our tours, we can give you a lot more information about history of Japan relating to the places we guide.
Why not join tours of Tokyo Free Walking Tour to have more international perspectives in your life?
To our guest on June 28th – we’d love to hear your feedback!
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If you want more info about our tour, check out our website, Facebook, or “Tokyo Free Walking Tour” on Tripadvisor.
(Posted by Masa Y.)