Naufragés aux portes du Japon d’Edo (1603–1867) : Des frontières « infranchissables » et un espoir de retour

Abstract

Abstract It is often surmised that the Tokugawa shogunate (1603–1867) was obsessed with the notion of rigorous border control. During the first half a century of its existence, it had expelled from the country all Westerners but the Dutch, prohibited the Japanese from ever setting foot on foreign soil and banned the return of those abroad. Though, were the borders as impenetrable as they seemed to be? Historians agree nowadays that the bakufu maintained relations with the outside world and, even if international trade was restricted to certain nations and ports, it prospered still. The archipelago as well was far from lifeless. It was undergoing an intense urbanisation, centred mainly on the cities of Edo and Ōsaka. Before long, hosts of transport craft became a crucial part of the booming Japanese economy. However, shipwrecks were extremely common, and several hundred castaways ended up in Europe, in the United States or in their colonies in Asia, a fate that they viewed as worse than death, since they were theoretically forbidden from coming back. Many shipwrecked sailors chose to remain abroad, but some did return to their home country. This paper examines how they tried to cross a border that was reputed to be impossible to cross.