A colorful figurehead decorates the stern of a sailing vessel. This figurehead features the Rotterdam born philosopher Desiderius Erasmus (1469-1536). When De Liefde reached Japan in 1600, the ship was seized by the local authorities. The English first officer, William Adams (1564-1620) managed to save the figurehead from the Japanese. Finally, it ended up in a temple north of Tokyo, where, for many years, it was revered as Kateki, patron saint of shipbuilders. The real significance of the figurehead representing Erasmus was not discovered until 1926 and it was then transferred to the National Museum in Tokyo. The photo features a replica of the figurehead.
This digital media file - and/or the physical objects depicted on it - originates from the digital and/or physical collections of the <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.kb.nl/">Koninklijke Bibliotheek</a>, national library of the Netherlands.