Hirado, Nagasaki

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Image:Map Hirado en.png Image:HiradoVOCfactory(montanus-1669).jpg

Hirado (平戸市; Hirado-shi) is a city in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. It occupies an island connected to Kyūshū by Hirado Bridge.

During the Sengoku and early Edo Periods, Hirado was a major centre of foreign trade, especially with the Ming Dynasty of China and the Dutch, who established a trading factory there on September 20th, 1609, under the direction of Jacob Groenewegen and with the help of William Adams.

Later, the Tokugawa Shogunate moved trade to Dejima, an island in the present-day city of Nagasaki.

Also during the Edo Period, Hirado was the seat of the Hirado Han, and their Hirado Castle is a landmark on the island.

As of January 1, 2006, the city had an estimated population of 39,777. The total area is 235.60km²

[edit] timeline

January 1 1955-The city was founded.
October 1, 2005-The city merged with the towns of Tabira, Nagasaki, Ikitsuki, and the village of Oshima to form the new city of Hirado.

[edit] Famous people associated with Hirado

The Taiwanese national hero and Ming general Koxinga (1624–1662) and the Japanese diplomat Inagaki Manjiro (1861–1908) were born in Hirado. William Adams (1564–1620), the English navigator, died there.