Articles

The System of State Control upon Japanese-Chinese Trade in the Seventeenth–Eighteenth Centuries

Vostok/Oriens '2015, №3

 
The article analyses the control organized for Japanese-Chinese trade relations in the Edo Period (1603–1867) when Japan held the seclusion policy and the port of Nagasaki was the only port open to Chinese ships. The article deals with such governmental bodies as the governor of Nagasaki and his assistants, the Factory for Chinese Merchants, trade associations like Nagasaki Kaisho and copper monopoly in Osaka. These institutions ensured state control and its development and helped central government to preserve a huge amount of precious metals in Japan, thus supporting state economy, and to diminish smuggling in Nagasaki. The article also focuses on Tanuma Okitsugu’s measures to support trade with China that helped Japan to have much silver imported and create a nationwide network for sea products supply.

Keywords: Japan, China, isolation, Nagasaki, Nagasaki governor, Chinese Factory, taxes, Tanuma Okitsugu, smuggling

Pages: С. 26–35