Editing Ayutthaya Kingdom (section)

====Contacts with East Asia====
{{See also|Zheng He|Yamada Nagamasa}}
Between 1405 and 1433, the Chinese [[Ming dynasty]] sponsored a series of [[Treasure voyages|seven naval expeditions]]. [[Emperor Yongle]] designed them to establish a Chinese presence, impose imperial control over trade, and impress foreign peoples in the Indian Ocean basin. He also might have wanted to extend the [[tributary system]]. It is believed that the Chinese fleet under Admiral [[Zheng He]] travelled up the Chao Phraya River to Ayutthaya on three occasions.

Meanwhile, a Japanese [[colony]] was established in Ayutthaya. The colony was active in trade, particularly in the export of deer hides and saphan wood to Japan in exchange for Japanese [[silver]] and Japanese handicrafts (swords, lacquered boxes, high-quality paper). From Ayutthaya, Japan was interested in purchasing [[Chinese silk]]s, as well as [[deerskin]]s and ray or shark skins (used to make a sort of [[shagreen]] for Japanese [[sword]] handles and [[scabbard]]s).<ref>Boxer, p. 293</ref>

The Japanese quarters of [[Ayutthaya (city)|Ayutthaya]] were home to about 1,500 Japanese inhabitants (some estimates run as high as 7,000). The community was called ''Ban Yipun'' in Thai, and was headed by a Japanese chief nominated by Thai authorities.<ref name=yoneo154>Ishii Yoneo. "Siam and Japan in pre-modern times: a note on mutual images". In Denoon, p. 154.</ref> It seems to have been a combination of traders, [[Christians|Christian]] converts (''[[Kirishitan]]'') who had fled their home country to various Southeast Asian countries following the persecutions of [[Toyotomi Hideyoshi]] and [[Tokugawa Ieyasu]], and unemployed former samurai who had been on the losing side at the [[battle of Sekigahara]].<ref name=yoneo154 />

Padre [[António Francisco Cardim]] recounted having administered the sacrament to around 400 Japanese Christians in 1627 in the Thai capital of [[Ayutthaya Province|Ayuthaya]] ("a 400 japoes christaos")<ref name=yoneo154 /> There were also Japanese communities in [[Ligor]] and [[Pattani, Thailand|Patani]].<ref name="Boxer, p.297">Boxer, p. 297</ref>

<gallery>
File:ZhengHeShips.gif|Early 17th-century Chinese woodblock print, thought to represent Zheng He's ships.
File:วัดพนัญเชิงวรวิหาร by Pholtograph.jpg| ''Luang Pho Tho'' or ''Sam Pao Kong'', the highly revered Buddha statue in [[Wat Phanan Choeng]] temple was visited in 1407 by [[Zheng He]] during [[Treasure voyages|the naval expedition]].
File:Japanese Red Seal Ship Shuinsen 1634.png|A 1634 Japanese [[Red seal ship]]. Tokyo Naval Science Museum.
File:Ayutthaya City Map (Siam) by Loubere 1691.jpg|The Japanese quarter in Ayutthaya is indicated at the bottom center ("Japonois") of the map, 1691.
File:Yamada-Nagamasa-Portrait-Shizuoka-Sengen-Shrine.png|Portrait of ''Yamada Nagamasa'' {{circa|1630}}
File:Ayutthaya Japanese village 4.jpg|Interior of the [[Japanese Village (Ayutthaya)|Japanese Village]] museum in Ayutthaya
</gallery>