Ban Yipun

The Japanese Village, known in Thai as Ban Yipun or Muban Yipun, was a historic Japanese ethnic enclave (nihonmachi) just outside the capital city of the Ayutthaya Kingdom that flourished from the 17th century to the mid-18th century, now in the area of Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya District. It was located on the eastern bank of the Chao Phraya river, facing the Portuguese enclave on the western bank, and adjacent to the British and Dutch enclaves. It is believed that approximately 1000 to 1,500 Japanese lived in the enclave, though the Japanese book Shamu-koku fūdo gunki (暹羅国風土軍記) estimates there were up to 8,000 ethnic Japanese during the Kan'ei period (1624–1644). The inhabitants of the enclave consisted of mercenaries, traders, Japanese Christians, and Thai and Chinese slaves.

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