Hirado

In 1609 the VOC was granted a trading permit from the Shogun of Japan giving the Company access to Japanese ports and waters. The VOC was also permitted to set up a base on the small Japanese island of Hirado, known as Firando by Europeans at that time. Each year the head of the trading post there was required to pay his respects to the Shogun in Edo, today's Tokyo. Because the Shoguns were keenly interested in Dutch cannon, an iron foundry was built on Firando. From 1609 to 1641 Firando served as an important port and storage depot for trade in Chinese territorial waters. The main trading product was Chinese silk, which was exchanged for precious metals in Japan. At the end of the 1630s free trade in Japan came to an end. In 1641 the VOC was required to move its base to the small island of Deshima in the bay of Nagasaki, where it was subject to stringent rules and surveillance imposed by the Japanese government.