Their confinement was rigorous: the Dutch were isolated on the tiny, fan-shaped island of Dejima in Nagasaki harbour.

ECONOMIST: Japanese art

Local hero Dejima came for the dedication ceremony, but Kosaka was feeling skittish.

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Instead, they while away wintry days with impromptu wrestling matches and cheer on Dejima, a Moriyama alumnus who has reached sumo's second-highest rank, ozeki.

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Some of the finest Japanese books and manuscripts to reach the West, however, were collected by a German, Engelbert Kaempfer, who was employed as a doctor by Dutch traders on Dejima.

ECONOMIST: Japanese art