Port of Hirado, Ancient trading port in Hirado, Japan
The Port of Hirado is a working port and ferry terminal on the western shore of Hirado Island, in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. It connects the island to the mainland by sea and serves both local ferry passengers and visitors coming to explore the area.
In the 1500s and 1600s, the port was one of the first places in Japan where European traders, first the Portuguese and then the Dutch, were allowed to operate. When Japan restricted foreign trade, activity shifted to Dejima in Nagasaki, and Hirado lost its role as a trading hub.
The port sits along a waterfront where merchants from Portugal, the Netherlands, and China once landed and traded. Nearby streets still carry traces of those exchanges in their architecture and place names.
The ferry terminal and an information center are located along the waterfront and are easy to find on arrival. Most of the historical sites in the area can be reached on foot from the port, so arriving with comfortable shoes is a good idea.
William Adams, an English navigator who became an adviser to a Japanese ruler in the early 1600s, spent time in Hirado and is connected to the port's history. His life later became the basis for James Clavell's novel Shogun.
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