The history of exchange between Japan and The Netherlands started when the Rotterdam ship
“De Liefde” drifted ashore in Japan in 1600. From the end of the 16th to the beginning of the 17th century, during the warring stated period, Japanese culture was strongly influenced by Portugal and Spain. In 1639, the Tokugawa Shogunate prohibited the Portuguese from visiting Japan and decided to continue official trade only with The Netherlands. In 1641, the Dutch factory of the VOC was relocated from Hirado to Deshina in Nagasaki and trade between Japan and The Netherlands entered a new stage. At this time, The Netherlands was the only country that provided Japan with western culture. During the Edo period, western culture into Japan was almost exclusively imported through the Dutch factory of the VOC in Nagasaki.

From the 17th century, Japanese noble scholars adopted western knowledge of cannons, medical science and natural science, especially natural history. In 1720 Tokugawa Yoshimune eased restrictions on imports of western books, except those related to Christianity. This easing of restrictions greatly assisted studies prevailing in Japan of medical science, astronomy and the solar calender. With the increased import of many different books, prints, paintings of lower quality and glass pictures, some painters and members of wealthy class in Japan came to accept the western artistic rationale with regard to composition and expression which stressed texture and three-dimensional effect.

Japanese artists learned western techniques on their own, mainly from illustrations or prints in Dutch books. Shiba Kokan (1747-1818) a western-style painter representing the Edo period created first Japanese etchings based on illustrations in a Dutch everyday encyclopedia, the Dictiotiara Oncyclopedia edited by Noel Chomel (1633-1712). Kokan obtained from the Amsterdam copper printer Jan Luiken prints from his popular work: Spiegel van het Menselyk Bedryf" and he produced the first real oil paintings in Japan based on this work.
He named the oil paintings "Ranga" (Dutch paintings.