SONOGI: THE WOMAN IN BLUE

For centuries, Japan and the Netherlands shared a unique relationship—one shaped by isolation, commerce, and cultural exchange. From 1639 to 1853, the small artificial island of Deshima, in Nagasaki, served as Japan’s only open gateway to the outside world. The Dutch were confined there, unable to step onto Japanese soil, and Japanese citizens were largely forbidden from interacting with them.

Except for a select few.

Among them were the Yujo women of the Maruyama district—courtesans highly trained in the arts, conversation, and cultural diplomacy. They were the only Japanese women permitted to cross into Deshima, acting as entertainers, confidantes, and unwitting mediators between East and West. Their presence shaped the exchange of language, ideas, and emotions, the collected cultural treasures and knowledge from Japan to the West and the Western scientific knowledge entering Japan. Yet their contributions remain largely absent from historical records.

One of these women was Sonogi. This is her story.