A desperate and warlike people: Japanese mercenaries in Southeast Asia in the seventeenth century

Japanese mercenaries established themselves as a powerful force throughout Southeast Asia in the first decades of the seventeenth century. The successful career of these mercenaries ended abruptly in the 1630s as a result of maritime restrictions implemented by the early modern Tokugawa state (1600-1867). This research traces the evolution of the trade of Japanese mercenaries, exploring why so many Japanese decided to leave the archipelago to become mercenaries, why these mercenaries were drawn to Southeast Asia, and how the Tokugawa state suppressed the trade in mercenaries.