After the incident of 1624, the years between 1625 and 1628 went smoothly for both Yamada Nagamasa and for the commercial and diplomatic relations between Ayutthaya and Japan. A new Siamese embassy reached Edo in 1625 but, as in the case of 1623, there is no evidence of Nagamasa being directly involved in it. However, his position as leader of the Japanese enclave must have been well-established, since by 1624 he had been able to purchase a junk and to send it to Nagasaki. At that point, Nagamasa was a relatively wealthy merchant.
His ship could not obtain a shun in 1625, thus it had to stay in Nagasaki for a whole year, where it also underwent some repairs and modifications. During that period, however, Nagamasa was able to charter some space on a Dutch ship to send a load of deerskins to Japan. His ship finally returned to Ayutthaya in 1626, and sailed again to Japan the following year, from where it returned safely in early 1628. In that year, Japanese and Siamese ships were the chief targets of revenge-thirsty Spanish. Hence, Nagamasa decided to send his junk south to Malacca. En route, it was captured by the Dutch commander Carel Lieveszon and forced to Batavia (in Java), where VOC had its main base in Southeast Asia.
What might have initially seemed to be a misfortune, turned out to be a lucky strike for Nagamasa. Once his vessel was identified, Jan Pieterszoon Coen, Governor General of the Netherlands East Indies, granted a permit to trade in Batavia and set the ship free to head back for Ayutthaya. Nagamasa was enthusiastic about the consideration he had received from Coen, and quickly refilled his ship and sent it back to Batavia, carrying present for the Dutch, and a cargo of rice, oil, and other goods that were sold immediately upon arrival.
As with the case of Nagamasa’s predecessor Kii Kyuemon, there was in these years a tradition of friendship between the Dutch and the Ayutthayan Japanese. This might have been sparked by genuine feelings of friendships on Nagamasa’s side. The other interesting point regarding the trade with Batavia is the choice of cargo: Nagamasa by then had the capacity to differentiate his business, alternating deerskins he sent to Japan with rice and other products that were sought in Batavia. After Nagamasa’s ship had returned to Batavia for the second time, Coen let him know in a letter that his next shipment was expected as soon as possible.
The opening of this new commercial route to Java might also have influenced some of Nagamasa’s future decisions. However, his ship never saw Batavia harbour again. It made its third and last trip to Japan in 1629.
Resources: “Samurai of Ayutthaya – The Historical Landscape of
Early 17th Century Japan and Siam: Yamada Nagamasa
and the Way to Ayutthaya” by Cesare Polenghi (p. 48-49)
