17th century Japanese village uncovered in Cambodia

[Jasmine]

17th century Japanese village uncovered in Cambodia
Thursday, February 14, 2008 at 07:01 EST

PHNOM PENH — A site of a Japanese village dating back to the 17th century has been found in the outskirts of Cambodia's capital Phnom Penh, a Japanese archaeologist said Wednesday. Hiroshi Sugiyama, chief research fellow at Japan's National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, said that based on research since 2004 and analyses of excavations and documents, the site in Ponhea Lueu Commune, about 25 kilometers north of Phnom Penh, is a Japanese village dating back to the 17th century.



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Based on on-site research, excavations and historical documents, Japanese people came to Cambodia aboard ships between 1601 and 1635, he said. "There were about 100 Japanese living in the village during that period of time, and most of them were engaged in religious affairs and trading," Sugiyama said in a lecture on his findings to about 100 Cambodians, many of them university students, at the Cambodia-Japan Cooperation Center in the Royal University of Phnom Penh.


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