Letter from Vietnamese vice-minister and marquis Nguyen to the “King of Japan”

This is the oldest known diplomatic letter exchanged between Japan and Annam (present-day Vietnam). The letter is dated the 14th year of the Guangxing era of Annam, which corresponds to 1591 C.E. The letter was written by Nguyen and his signature was affixed at the end with a wooden seal. It is addressed to King x of Japan (the name of the king is intentionally omitted.). Right above the signature seal is another seal with the Chinese character “書” (sho), which means that this document is a letter. The content of the letter is as follows: “Minister Fuyihou Nguyen of Annam sends a letter to the King of Japan. I heard that loyalty is prized by the nation and should be steadfastly maintained. A few years ago, I met your envoy Chen Liangshan. He told me that “The King of Japan would be happy to have a male elephant.” So I asked him to bring an elephant to your Majesty, but his ship was too small to carry an elephant. Accordingly, instead of an elephant, I sent to Your Majesty two fragrant plants, one umbrella, one elephant tusk, and two excellent textiles so as to maintain loyalty to you. On the next year, Long Yan, another of your Majesty’s envoys, arrived and informed me that “Chen Liangshan and his ship had yet to return.” I therefore sent an umbrella to your Majesty to maintain loyalty to you.

If your Majesty likes the rare objects of our country and send Long Yan to our country again, please bring me two good Japanese swords and one set of good Japanese armor. In return, I will gather the rare objects available in my country and present them to your Majesty so as to establish an exchange system between the two countries in good faith.” The “King of Japan” here intended to have trading relationship with Annam from around 1590. Around the time, Toyotomi Hideyoshi was seeking tributes from Korea, Ryūkyū (present-day Okinawa), Takasago (present-day Taiwan), and Luzon (present-day Philippines). Thus, he might have made the same request to Annam. On the other hand, it is possible that Chinese merchants tried to expand their trading zone under the guise of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Whichever may have been the truth, this letter is an important material indicating Japan-Annam relationship during the transition from the period of Wako (Chinese pirates) to the period of the Red Seal system and awaits further studies.

— Museum description: Kyushu National Museum (CC BY 4.0), via ColBase / Japan Search.