Nagasaki (nä-gä-sä′ kḗ), a seaport town of Japan, for two centuries was the only harbor in the kingdom open to the world. In 1859 it became one of the five open ports. Its harbor is a beautiful inlet, of over three miles, having, near its head, the island of Deshima, which from 1637 to 1859 was the trading-post and prison-house of the Dutch traders. The great Takashima coal-mine on an island eight miles seaward, makes Nagasaki an important coaling-station. Its imports (besides tea and raw silk) include rice, textiles, porcelain and lacquer-ware. The foreign settlement is on the east side of the harbor. The city has English, American and Dutch missions and a community of native Christians. Population 176,480.
