The Nanban trade or Nanban trade period, was a period in the history of Japan from the arrival of Europeans in 1543 to the first Sakoku Seclusion Edicts of isolationism in 1614. The Nanban trade began with Portuguese explorers and merchants in the Sengoku period and established long-distance overseas trade routes with Japan; the resulting cultural exchange included the introduction of refined sugar, hand-held firearms, galleon-style shipbuilding, Christianity to Japan. The Nanban trade declined in the early Edo period with the rise of the Tokugawa Shogunate which feared the influence of Christianity in Japan the Roman Catholicism of the Portuguese; the Tokugawa issued a series of Sakoku policies that isolated Japan from the outside world and limited European trade to Dutch traders on the island of Dejima. Communities are campaigning for the influential Nanban route's inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Following contact with the Portuguese on Tanegashima in 1542, the Japanese were at first rather wary of the newly arrived foreigners.

The culture shock was quite strong due to the fact that Europeans were not able to understand the Japanese writing system nor accustomed to using chopsticks. They eat, they show their feelings without any self-control. They cannot understand the meaning of written characters.. Many foreigners were befriended by Japanese rulers, their ability was sometimes recognized to the point of promoting one to the rank of samurai, giving him a fief in the Miura Peninsula, south of Edo; the island of Jampon, according to what all the Chinese say, is larger than that of the Léquios, the king is more powerful and greater and is not given to trading, nor are his subjects. He is a vassal of the king of China, they do not trade in China because it is far off and they have no junks, nor are they seafaring men. Renaissance Europeans were quite fond of Japan's immense richness in precious metals owing to Marco Polo's accounts of gilded temples and palaces, but due to the relative abundance of surface ores characteristic of a volcanic country, before large-scale deep-mining became possible in Industrial times.

Japan was to become a major exporter of silver during the period. Japan was noted for its comparable or exceptional levels of population and urbanisation with the west, at the time, some Europeans became quite fascinated with Japan, with Alessandro Valignano writing that the Japanese "excel not only all the other Oriental peoples, they surpass the Europeans as well". Early European visitors noted the quality of Japanese metalsmithing; this stems from the fact that Japan itself is rather poor in natural resources found in Europe iron. Thus, the Japanese were famously frugal with their consumable resources. Japanese military progress was well noted. "A Spanish royal decree of 1609 directed Spanish commanders in the Pacific'not to risk the reputation of our arms and state against Japanese soldier.'". Troops of Japanese samurai were employed in the Maluku Islands in Southeast Asia by the Dutch to fight off the English. Since 1514 that the Portuguese had traded with China from Malacca, the year after the first Portuguese landfall in Japan, trade commenced between Malacca and Japan.

The Chinese Emperor had decreed an embargo against Japan as a result of piratical wokou raids against China - Chinese goods were in scarce supply in Japan and so, the Portuguese found a lucrative opportunity to act as middlemen between the two realms. Trade with Japan was open to any, but in 1550, the Portuguese Crown monopolized the rights to trade with Japan. Henceforth, once a year a fidalgo was awarded the rights for a single trade venture to Japan with considerable privileges, such as the title of captain-major of the voyage to Japan, with authority over any Portuguese subjects in China or Japan while he was in port, the right to sell his post, should he lack the necessary funds to undertake the enterprise, he could purchase his own, at about 40,000 xerafins. His ship would set sail from Goa, called at China before proceeding to Japan and back. In 1554, captain-major Leonel de Sousa negotiated with Chinese authorities the re-legalization of Portuguese trade in China, followed by the foundation of Macau in 1557 to support this trade.

The state of civil-war in Japan was highly beneficial to the Portuguese, as each competing lord sought to attract trade to their domains by offering better conditions. In 1571, the fishing village of Nagasaki became the definitive anchorage of the Portuguese and in 1580, its lord, Omura Sumitada, the first Japanese lord to convert to Christianity, leased it to the Jesuits "in perpetuity"; the city subsequently evolved from an unimportant fishing village to a prosperous and cosmopolitan community, the entirety of, Christian. In time, the city would be graced with a painting school, a hospital, a charitable institution and a Jesuit college. Among the vessels involved in the trade linking Goa and Japan, the most famous were Portuguese carracks, slow but large enough to hold a great deal of merchandise and enough provisions safely through such a lengthy and hazardous journey; these ships had about 400-600 tons bu

Zou Jie is a Chinese football player. Zou Jie began his professional football career for Dalian Shide in the 2000 league season, making two appearances, he rose to prominence in the 2001 Chinese season when he played in 20 games, scoring 8 goals, playing a vital part in the title winning team and would win the Young player of the year award. Establishing himself as a first-choice regular within the team, he would win several more league titles and Chinese FA Cup with Dalian, with the 2005 season being his most prolific when he scored 15 goals in 23 appearances. In the 2008 league season Dalian Shide would have an unproductive season, which saw them flirt with relegation and this saw Xu Hong to come in as head coach, where he viewed Zou Jie as surplus to requirements leading to a loan deal to second-tier club Shenyang Dongjin during the 2009 league season. Zou returned to professional football in March 2017. Zou Jie was called up to the senior national team on June 19, 2005, in a friendly against Costa Rica in a 2–2 draw.

After several further friendlies Zou Jie would play his first competitive game against Palestine in an Asian Cup qualifier on February 22, 2006, that China won 2–0. This was followed by another Asian Cup qualifier game against Iraq where China lost 2–1 on March 1, 2006; the Chinese Head coach Zhu Guanghu would deem Zou Jie's performances as unsatisfactorily and did not recall him in any further squads. Dalian Shide Chinese Jia-A League/Chinese Super League: 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005 Chinese FA Cup: 2001, 2005 CFA Young Player of the Year: 2001 Player profile at Sina.com Zou Jie at National-Football-Teams.com Player stats at Sohu.com

Johannes Zick was a German painter of frescoes in southern Germany and active during the Baroque period. He was the father of painter Januarius Zick and considered to be an important master of the Late Baroque. Johannes Zick was born in 1702 in Lachen, part of the territory of the Prince-Abbot of Kempten in the Unterallgäu in modern-day Bavaria, where he started his career as a blacksmith in his father's workshop. From 1721 to 1724, he was apprenticed to the Konstanz court painter Jacob Carl Stauder, they both painted the frescoes on the ceiling of the church Mariahilf in Munich. Zick moved with his family to Munich in 1728 where he was appointed court painter to Prince Bishop Duke Johann Theodor of Bavaria. Johannes Zick's further development as a painter of frescoes was stimulated by the Asam brothers, who were active in Munich at the time. Johannes Zick worked extensively in Upper Swabia between 1744 and 1749. Due to his employment in Upper Swabia, his family followed him there in 1746, living either in Schussenried or in Biberach an der Riß.

In 1746, he painted the frescoes on the ceiling of the central nave in St. Martin's Church in Biberach an der Riß and, following his design, the other naves were reconstructed and painted with frescoes in 1747. Around 1750, he moved to Würzburg where he painted the frescoes in the so-called garden room at the Würzburg Residence, the dwelling place of the Prince Bishop of Würzburg. For nine years, between 1751 and 1759, he furnished the residence of the Prince Bishops of Speyer in Bruchsal with paintings. Johannes Zick died in Würzburg in 1762. 1736 - Decoration of vault and altar in the church of St. John the Baptist, Bergkirchen 1737 - Frescoes in Roßacker Chapel, Rosenheim 1738/1739 - Frescoes in St. George's church, Raitenhaslach 1740/1742 - Five altarpieces in the collegiate church St. Andrews, Berchtesgaden 1745/1746 - Frescoes in the Premonstratensian abbey church St. Magnus, Schussenried 1746/1747 - Frescoes and decorations in the church of St. Martin, Biberach an der Riß 1749/1750 - Frescoes for the garden-room at the Würzburg Residence 1751-1759 - Numerous frescoes at the residence in Bruchsal 1753 - Paintings in Amorbach parish church 1755 - Paintings in the refectory of Monastery Oberzell near Würzburg 1756 - Paintings in the Sandkirche, Aschaffenburg 1757 - Paintings in the Grafenrheinfeld parish church Upper Swabian Baroque Route Zick