Jun 265 min read

Yaesu Indeed: Why a Central Tokyo District is Named After a "Shogun" Character

Thanks to an acclaimed 2024 TV reboot on FX and Disney+, James Clavell’s 1975 novel Shogun has recently reentered the zeitgeist of Japanese culture abroad. As someone who read the absolute goliath of a book a few years ago, I found the adaptation to be quite enjoyable, and it generally stayed true to Clavell’s novel.

Like most historical fiction, exploring the connections between real history and the author’s interpretation leads to fascinating discoveries. Recently, exploring the real people who inspired Clavell’s characters led me to find that one famous Tokyo place name which sounds Japanese, looks Japanese, and should well be Japanese, actually has its origins with one of sailors who accompanied the real-life John Blackthorne in his journey to Japan. Let’s explore the real history behind this man and where you can still see his legacy in Tokyo today.

Is Shogun based on real history?

While Shogun is by no means a historical textbook, the story is indeed based on real people and events from 17th century Japan. The magnanimous Toranaga-sama (played by Hiroyuki Sanada) represents Tokugawa Ieyasu, who unified Japan after the Battle of Sekigahara and established the military government of the Tokugawa Shogunate (1603-1868). Tokugawa’s political prowess and military aptitude brought together and subdued the various warring factions of the nation, and he is without a doubt one of the most famous historical figures in Japanese history.

The early days of Tokugawa’s unification process are loosely depicted in Shogun, and Clavell’s Toranaga is a man bound by fate and armed with pure, unrivaled mettle. He is an awe-inspiring figure in the midst of a spoken-word fight to the death, where the wrong turn of phrase may force anyone to fall on their sword, no questions asked.

Who was William Adams (the real John Blackthorne from Shogun)?

It is in this context that a boat of filthy, dying Europeans washes up, out of place and barely coherent, and their leader becomes an essential advisor of the majestic Shogun-to-be. This character is William Blackthorne, Anjin, the Pilot (played by Cosmo Jarvis).

In Shogun, Blackthorne comes to play a critical part in training Toranaga’s men on his ship’s cannon and advising Toranaga–though he mostly just bumbles around trying to make sense of the seemingly incomprehensible (and often impermissible) Japanese culture. And thank God the Pilot was there, as he single handedly saved Toranaga, and thus Japan, multiple times (Trust me, the white savior complex in the book reflects more on its 1975 publication date than true history).

His historical analogue is William Adams, who arrived in Japan aboard the trading vessel Liefde with a starving skeleton crew, much in the same way as his fictional counterpart, and similarly gained titles, influence, and feudal authority over the course of his life in Japan.

Who was Jan Joosten?

One major difference between the story and the history is the role of Adams’ Dutch crewmate Jan Joosten. Joosten was represented in the book by a minor character named Johann Vinck, and he was omitted altogether in the show.

Though Shogun would have you believe that Adams was the singular European figure in the story, the historical Joosten was not as insignificant as Shogun would make him seem. Like Adams, Joosten served as a key advisor to Tokugawa after his arrival. They both lived out the rest of their lives in Japan.

Joosten was such an influential figure that Yaesu, one of modern Tokyo’s most central districts, derives its name from his.

Today, you can find a bust of Jan Joosten in Yaesu with a plaque that reads:

ヤン・ヨーステンは和蘭人で西暦１６００年豊後の海で難破した和蘭船に乗っていた。そのまゝ日本に住みつき徳川家康の信任を得､外交や貿易について進言をする役目についた。その江戸屋敷は和田倉門外の堀端にあったので､後に彼の名にちなんで八代洲河岸と称せられ､更に八重洲になった。ここに彼を偲んで記念像を置く。

Jan Joosten was a Dutch sailor whose ship wrecked in the Bungo Sea in 1600. He settled in Japan and gained the trust of Tokugawa Ieyasu, and was put in charge of advising on diplomacy and trade. His Edo residence was located on the edge of the moat outside Wadakuramon Gate, so it was later named Yayosu-bashi after him, and then Yaesu. This memorial statue was placed here in memory of him.

Where is Yaesu? How did it get its name?

Yaesu is a district just east of Tokyo Station, a very thin strip of land bordered on the other side by the Nihonbashi district and Kyobashi-district.

The Chuo Ward website states that Yaesu gained its name directly from the legacy of Jan Joosten, whose primary residence was located in the area. The Dutchman was given the Japanese name “Yayosu” (耶楊子、やようす), a charming phonetic simplification of what his foreign name must have sounded like to his contemporaries. Later, the entire district was renamed Yaesu as a derivation of Yayosu.

Joosten’s residence was located near Wadakuramon Gate outside the Imperial Palace, and a bridge close by was named Yayosu-bashi (bashi meaning bridge) in his honor. The area was first officially named Yaesu in 1872, incorporating modern-day Marunouchi. The original area of the town shrank over the years through redistricting, resulting in Yaesu relocating to its current location on the east side of Tokyo Station.

Where can I see the statue of Jan Joosten in Yaesu?

The statue of Jan Joosten is located in the Yaesu Chika underground shopping mall. If you are coming from Tokyo Station, take the Yaesu Underground exit, and you’ll find it between two restaurants on the first perpendicular street (most likely to the right, depending on where you enter the underground). Take a stroll and find Jan Joosten here!

Translation of Jan Joosten Information Board (Yaesu Underground)

Beside the bust mentioned above is a larger information board, which is translated below, and a map of Liefde's journey before arriving in Japan.

The Dutchman of Yaesu’s Origin - Jan Joosten b. ? -d. 1623

Jan Joosten (Dutchman, Japanese name: Yayosu) was a crew member of the Dutch ship Liefde, which drifted ashore in Bungo (present-day Oita Prefecture) in 1600, together with William Adams (Japanese name: Anjin Miura) and others.

Jan Joosten was valued as an interpreter for Tokugawa Ieyasu, and was given a house in what is now Hibiya, by Edo Castle, and the name of the area became Yayosu Riverside. “Yayosu" was later written as "Yaesu," and it first became a town name near the current Marunouchi 1-chome area in 1872 (Meiji 5). Later, when Tokyo Station opened, most of Yaesu-cho became Tokyo Station, but in 1954, the entire east side of Tokyo Station was renamed "Yaesu, Chuo Ward" and remains to this day.

Jan Joosten, who married a Japanese, received a red trading seal from the Tokugawa shogunate and engaged in extensive trade, especially in Southeast Asia. In 1609, when the Dutch trading post was established in Hirado, Nagasaki, he devoted himself to the development of trade between Japan and the Netherlands. Later, Jan Joosten decided to return to Japan and went to Batavia (present-day Jakarta) to negotiate a return to Japan, but his negotiations were unsuccessful, and he died in a shipwreck on the way back to Japan.