The trade activities of sixteenth-century Christian daimyo Ōtomo Sōrin

Abstract

In the sixteenth century, the Japanese Christian daimyō Ōtomo Sōrin, with his seat in Northeast Kyūshū, carried out a flourishing trade by sending ships to Ming dynasty China and the Korean peninsula. While the shogunal government stopped dispatching ships to Ming China in 1547, the Ōtomo clan continued to send its own trading ships. There was even a thriving “Chinatown” on the outskirts of Ōtomo Sōrin’s Funai Castle. Excavations at the site of Funai Castle reveal Christian artifacts and noteworthy finds of rare ceramics from Southeast Asian countries, such as present-day Thailand, Myanmar, and Vietnam. Many rings and pieces of Venetian glass have been discovered. Of particular interest is the evidence for Ōtomo Sōrin’s early interest in Korean tea bowls.

Matched Nanban terms

• people Otomo Sorin
• people Ōtomo Sōrin
• places_events Funai

Provenance

• openalex (W4416856602)
  2026-04-30T19:58:24.484605+00:00

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