A "Seminar Dutch Japanese History" open to the public held in The Hague, co-organized by the Historiographical Institute and the Institute of
Netherlands History.
On August 31st,
the Historiographical Institute and the Institute of
Netherlands History co-organized a seminar open to the public entitled "Opening Up and Editng of Dutch Sources Relevant
for Dutch and Japanese History" which took place in the National
Library in The Hague.
Both institutes have been publishing the historical
sources of their own countries. The goal of this seminar was to introduce
recent publications and new projects that will stimulate historical research in
both countries.
After opening remarks by Dr. Donald Haks, director of the ING, Prof. Yoko Matsui introduced the
work of the Historiographical Institute and one of its
publications the Diaries kept by the Heads of the Dutch Factory in
Japan in
the series of the Nihon Kankei Kaigai Shiryo
(Historical Documents in Foreign Languages Relating to Japan), while Prof. Fuyuko Matsukata made a
presentation on a newly released database cataloguing the material in gBataviafs
Uitgaand Briefboekh (Copies
of Letters Sent from Batavia).
@From the Dutch side, Dr. Gerrit Knaap, programme
director, lectured on the history, current condition and future challenges
facing the Institute of Netherlands History, and Dr. Hanno de Vries introduced the databases of the Dutch National Archives
with relevance for Japan.
The seminar was chaired by Prof. Jurriaan van Goor, Professor of
Colonial History at the University of Utrecht and more than 50 researchers attended.