Hirado [key], town, Nagasaki prefecture, on Hirado island, off NW Kyushu, Japan. The Portuguese traded at its port c.1550, and Dutch and English factories were established in the early 17th cent. There was also trade with China and Korea. The Konyo Temple is one of the town's many historical sites. Hirado Island is connected by bridge to Kyushu and by the world's longest continuous truss bridge span to neighboring Ikitsuki Island.
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