Anything about William Adams (Anjin-sama)

[Lord of the Drunk Penguin]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Adams_%28sailor%29

Anything about this man would interest me. Or about the first contact with the Europeans, Japanese accounts especially.

Wikipedia states :

'Troops of Japanese samurai were later employed in the Spice Islands in Southeast Asia by the Dutch to fight off the English."

Anything on this?

Thanks in advance!

[rekishiotaku]

After the Sengoku-jidai, some wakou and samurai went off to fight in SE Asia, various Thai and Cambodian nations hired them as mercenaries. There was one settlement in what is now Thailand that was home to 1,500 to 7,000 Japanese immigrants. Yamada Nagamasa is probably the most famous example of a samurai who went off to fight in SE Asia during the 17th century.

I also know some Christian Samurai went to the Philippians and other Western colonies around the area.

[intifadanyz]

The involvement of Japanese as military in Eastern Nusantara (South East Asian Archipelago) was confirmed by native texts of Tanah Hitu and Banjar Chronicle.

Japanese in royal court of Siam and Cambodia also stated in a Malay text Hang Tuah Chronicle.

Some records of their involvement in Batavia in Banten Chronicle.

Syair Hemop recorded them in Patani.

Some said they were in Malaccan A Famosa when it was besieged by Dutch but this is debatable.