Dejima Island in Nagasaki, Japan

Dejima Island in Nagasaki, Japan

Japan became an isolationist state in the mid-17th century after a Portuguese-led Christian rebellion against the shogunate. The Dutch managed to circumvent this ban two years later by swearing to not spread religion, and allegedly even throwing a Bible into the sea. However, they were only allowed to set foot on a small artificial island in Nagasaki called Deijima. For decades this island functioned as the only place where foreigners were welco…