(Japan Museum Siebold House)
‘’Japan and The Netherlands are closer than you think’’
Location: Leiden, South-Holland, The Netherlands
Price: 10,- / students 6,-
Duration: 1,5 - 3 hours
Transport: about 10-minute walk from Leiden station
Language: Dutch, Japanese, English, German
Activities: Audio tour, Japanese history
Date of visit: 26 April 2023Website
Only Holland is allowed
Japan was a closed-off island, not interested in trading with the rest of the world, except for China. When the Dutch were busy sailing all over the world looking for more trade, they stumbled upon Japan in 1598 and became the first country outside of China that Japan traded with. So in 1641, they build a small island called Deshima (出島) where the Dutch traders and scholars could stay. Deshima grew into a big city now known as Nagasaki, the small location that was Deshima is now a museum where the village still looks the same as it did all those years ago.
The Spaniards and Portuguese already tried to trade with Japan but to no luck, as they got banned from the island, the Dutch VOC remained the only Western country they traded with for almost 200 years. They traded not only objects but also knowledge, therefor Dutch became the scientific language of Japan, and scholars had to learn Dutch. Just like we now use Latin or English. After 1850 Japan started also allowing other countries to trade, but because of this history, Japan and The Netherlands are still very close.
Since Deshima was such a popular spot in Japan, they also decided to build another Dutch village, but modern, called Huis ten Bosch close to Nagasaki.
Siebold’s personal collection
This museum was Philipp Franz von Siebold’s personal work. Born in Germany into a family of doctors and biologists, he grew up the same and went to good schools in the Netherlands and Germany. He quickly became very recognized for his work and because his dad was already a very good doctor. In 1822, he was asked at the age of only 23 if he wanted to go on a voyage of discovery to Japan. Siebold was a big fan of Japan and the goal of his trip was to learn about the culture, plants, and animals. This sounds like a dream to him, since he's very passionate. You can see this passion in the museum. The thing I love most is that he actually started this museum, when he came back home he put all the most beautiful things in his home and started the Japan Museum. Just like it is today, in the same location, in his house, his objects. Most of the objects were bought, found (in the case of plants) or given. Some given as gifts from Japanese scholars and students, and some gifted as payment for his medical help.
Siebold himself as tour guide
The museum itself was very dark to preserve the objects, I thought it looked calming. The tour through the museum starts with a short movie about who Siebold is, because he had a diary they know a lot about him. It is spoken through his character like he is telling you about his trip, and throughout the museum the audio tour is the same voice, Siebold showing you around the things he finds fascinating. It just makes it all a bit more personal this way.
The floors upstairs were closed that week since they were building a new exposition, so I could only look around downstairs. I will have to come back later. The museum also has a small garden with Siebolds statue and some plants he took with him from Japan that h planted in his garden. Some objects from Siebold have been put in other museums, like some taxidermied animals have been put in Naturalis and some plants have been planted in the botanical garden, both of these museums also on Leiden.
Would I pay the price: yes, I think the price fits the museum perfectly, maybe even cheap but i have only seen the museum partly.
Would I revisit it: Definitely, since I missed some.
Who do I recommend it to: Japanese tourists, people interested in Japanese history.
Interactive: 2
Educational: 4
Storytelling: 4
Price: 4
Memorable: 4
