Diary of Richard Cocks, Volume 2

A rare, firsthand record of the English factory in early‑17th‑century Japan, this diary follows Richard Cocks as he navigates the tangled world of trade, diplomacy and daily life on the shores of Hirado. From meticulous accounts of bills, silver bars and silk shipments to the exchange of New‑Year gifts—Spanish wine, silk stockings and lacquered beakers—the entries reveal how commerce was inseparable from ritual and personal relationships. Cocks’s notes on the movements of the Dutch junk, the arrival of Japanese officials, and the constant need to balance royal orders with local customs give listeners a vivid sense of the period’s fragile international network.

The narrative also shines a light on the human side of the venture: midnight meals aboard a ship, lively disputes over counterfeit silk, and the occasional scandal involving courtesans and secretive legal pleas. Through Cocks’s candid voice, listeners hear the anxieties, hopes and small triumphs of a fledgling English presence striving to survive amid fierce competition and cultural complexity.