Nagasaki Trade

Foreign trade was conducted through Nagasaki in the early modern period. Portuguese ships first arrived in Nagasaki in 1570 (Genki 1), and began to dock regularly the following year. Merchants from the surrounding areas, such as Omura, Shimabara, and Hirado, came to Nagasaki, and the town developed. Merchants from Kinai and Edo also gathered in Nagasaki, and the city established itself as the center of Portuguese trade. The issuance of Ito-Wappu (a paper money slip) to Portuguese ships arriving in Nagasaki in 1604 (Keicho 9) marked the beginning of the trade controls that followed. Among the Nagasaki merchants were large merchants who operated their own red seal ship trade, such as Suetsugu Heizo (the magistrate) and Araki Soutaro, and many others who invested small amounts of capital in Portuguese ships, and there were frequent disputes with the Portuguese over repayment of their investments. When Japanese people were banned from traveling overseas in 1635 (Kan'ei 12), this investment became even more active, and led by Suetsugu Heizo, continued until Portuguese ships were banned in 1639. Around this time, the number of Chinese ships visiting Nagasaki rose to 30-97 per year, and in 1641 the shogunate ordered the Dutch trading post to relocate to Dejima, making Nagasaki the only port permitted for foreign trade until the end of the Edo period.

Immediately after the completion of the isolationist system, trade with the Netherlands and trade with China both reached their peak in terms of trade volume, but it did not last long. During the Hirado period, the Dutch imported nearly 200,000 jin of raw silk, but after raw silk came completely under the control of the itowarifu merchants, they imported only 50,000 to 60,000 jin, and this was replaced by raw silk from India and Vietnam, where pancado (price determination by bulk purchase) was not carried out. Also, the price of raw silk was decided every autumn and kept unchanged for a year, so the Chinese brought a small amount of raw silk in autumn to raise the price, and then imported a large amount. To eliminate this problem, the itowarifu was abolished in 1655 (Meireki 1), and free trade called aitai trade was carried out. However, the prices of imported goods soared, and a large amount of silver was flowing out, so in 1664 (Kanbun 4), the shogunate permitted the export of gold, which had been prohibited to the Dutch, and the export of gold eventually reached half of the total export goods.

In order to lower the prices of imported goods and prevent the outflow of these precious metals, the shogunate implemented a trade control called Shiho saibai (city trade) in 1672. Under this system, goods brought by the Dutch and Chinese were appraised by mekiki (appraisers) from five places (Nagasaki, Kyoto, Sakai, Osaka, and Edo), and the Nagasaki Magistrate's Office notified them of the price determined based on this, and the trade was carried out afterwards. The Pancado that had been applied to raw silk was applied to all goods. In addition, the profits were used as Shiho masagin (city tax increase silver) to pay the salaries of Nagasaki's various government officials and were also distributed to the city of Nagasaki, so this system brought a lot of profit to the city of Nagasaki. As the prices of imported goods fell and profits decreased, the Dutch tried to raise prices by reducing the amount of imports, but this was ineffective as it only increased the amount of imports by Chinese ships.

In 1685 (Jokyo 2), the city trade system was abolished, the itowatsu (paper ration) system was reinstated for raw silk, other products were traded on a negotiated basis, and a quota was set for the total trade amount. This was called Sadamedaka trade, and Dutch ships were allocated 3,000 kan per year, and Chinese ships 6,000 kan. In 1698 (Genroku 11), the Nagasaki Kaisho was established to oversee trade and pay taxes to the shogunate. During this time, restrictions on the export of gold and silver were gradually tightened, and the quality of the currency declined due to the recoinage. To compensate for this, the export of copper by the Dutch and Chinese gradually increased. In particular, when the copper exchange system was started in 1696 and copper was officially recognized as a means of trade settlement instead of gold and silver, the amount of copper exports increased rapidly, reaching 8 to 9 million jin per year. Initially, Edo merchants Fushimi-ya Shirobei and Kikyo-ya Matahachi were contracted to collect copper on the condition that they paid tax on transport, but they ran into difficulties due to lack of cooperation from copper minters in Osaka, and in 1701, a copper mint was established in Osaka to collect copper for export. In addition, the exchange of 2,000 kanme silver bales of goods (dried abalone, roasted sea cucumber, shark fins) and various colors (kelp, dried squid, cockscomb, etc.) for export to China was permitted, and Nagasaki wholesalers were in charge of collecting these goods.

However, the sudden increase in demand for copper quickly depleted copper mines in various regions, and in order to lower the prices of imported goods, the price of copper exported to Nagasaki was kept much lower than the market price, so it was always difficult to collect copper. The Tawara Office also replaced the wholesalers with a direct purchase system for copper bags, but the unfairly low prices reduced the fishermen's motivation to produce, making it difficult to secure export goods. Due to the shortage of export goods, trade with Dutch and Chinese ships did not progress, and ships were sometimes unable to depart even after the deadline had passed and had to be reloaded, while the prices of imported goods rose and smuggling (smuggling) became frequent. In 1715 (Shotoku 5), the "Shotoku New Restrictions" (New Restrictions on Maritime Trade) were issued to prevent the outflow of gold and silver, limit the amount of copper trade in accordance with the actual situation, and regulate the number of Chinese ships and the amount of trade by departure point.

Although restrictions on trade volumes were frequently imposed after this, the trade structure of importing luxury goods such as raw silk, silk fabrics, medicinal herbs, and sugar and exporting precious metals remained unchanged throughout the Edo period, leading to the argument that trade was unnecessary by Arai Hakuseki and others.

[Yoko Nagazumi]

"History of Nagasaki City: Trade Through Sea, Part on Oriental Countries" by Yano Jinichi (1938, Nagasaki City)" ▽ "Nagasaki" by Yanai Kenji (1959, Shibundo) ▽ "Nagasaki's Chinese Trade" by Yamawaki Teijiro (1959, Yoshikawa Kobunkan)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

近世、長崎を通じて行われた対外貿易。1570年（元亀1）ポルトガル船が初めて長崎に来航し、翌年から定期的に入港すると、長崎には大村、島原、平戸など周辺各地の商人が来住して町が発展し、畿内(きない)、江戸などの商人も集まり、ポルトガル貿易の中心地としての地位を確立した。1604年（慶長9）長崎来航のポルトガル船に対して行われた糸割符(いとわっぷ)は、この後の貿易統制の端緒となった。長崎商人のなかには、末次平蔵(すえつぐへいぞう)（代官）、荒木宗太郎(そうたろう)など、自ら朱印船貿易を営む大商人があり、また小口の資本をポルトガル船に投じた人も多く、その返済をめぐって、たびたびポルトガル人と紛争があった。1635年（寛永12）日本人の海外渡航がいっさい禁止されると、この投資はますます盛んになり、末次平蔵を中心として、39年ポルトガル船の来航が禁止されるまで続いた。このころ中国船の長崎来航は年間30～97隻に上り、1641年幕府はオランダ商館の出島(でじま)移転を命じたので、長崎はこの後幕末に至るまで、外国貿易を許される唯一の港となった。

　鎖国体制の完成直後、オランダ貿易、中国貿易はともに取引高では最盛期を迎えたが、長くは続かなかった。平戸時代オランダ人は20万斤近くの生糸を輸入していたが、生糸が完全に糸割符商人の支配下に置かれると、5、6万斤しか輸入せず、パンカドpancado（一括購入による価格決定）が行われないインド、ベトナム産の生糸がこれにかわった。また生糸の価格は毎年秋に決定され、1年間据え置かれたため、中国人は秋にわずかな生糸をもたらして価格を引き上げ、その後多量に舶載した。この弊害を除くため、1655年（明暦1）糸割符は廃止され、相対(あいたい)貿易とよばれる自由貿易が行われた。しかし輸入品の価格は高騰し、銀が大量に流出したので、幕府は1664年（寛文4）に、これまでオランダ人に禁止していた金の輸出を許可し、金の輸出はやがて輸出品の半分に達した。

　幕府は輸入品の価格を引き下げてこれらの貴金属の流出を防ぐため、1672年市法(しほう)売買とよばれる貿易統制を行った。これは、オランダ人、中国人のもたらした品物を、五か所（長崎、京、堺(さかい)、大坂、江戸）商人の目利(めきき)（鑑定人）が評価し、これに基づいて長崎奉行所(ぶぎょうしょ)が決定した価格を通知したうえ取引を行うもので、先に生糸に行われたパンカドをすべての商品に適用するものであった。また利益は市法増銀(ましぎん)として長崎の諸役人の給料にあてられ、長崎の町にも配分されたので、この制度は長崎の町に多くの利益をもたらした。オランダ人は輸入品の価格が下がり、利益が減少したため、輸入量を減らすことにより価格の引き上げを図ったが、これはかえって中国船の輸入額を増やすだけで効果がなかった。

　1685年（貞享2）市法売買は廃止され、生糸には糸割符が復活され、その他の商品は相対売買とし、貿易総額の枠が定められた。これは定高(さだめだか)貿易とよばれ、オランダ船には年額3000貫、中国船には6000貫が割り当てられた。1698年（元禄11）長崎会所が設けられ、貿易を統轄し、幕府に運上金を納めることになった。この間、金銀の輸出については規制がしだいに強められ、また貨幣改鋳によりその質が下落したため、これを補うため、オランダ人、中国人の銅輸出がしだいに増加した。とくに、1696年銅の代物替(しろものがえ)の制度が始まり、金銀にかわる貿易決済手段として銅が公式に認められると、銅の輸出額は急激に増加し、年間800万～900万斤に達した。当初銅の集荷は、江戸の商人伏見(ふしみ)屋四郎兵衛、桔梗屋又八(ききょうやまたはち)などに、運上金上納を条件に請け負わせたが、大坂の銅吹屋（鋳造人）の協力が得られないため行き詰まり、1701年大坂に銅座が設置されて、輸出銅の集荷にあたった。また中国向けの輸出として、銀2000貫目の俵物(たわらもの)（干鮑(ほしあわび)、煎海鼠(いりこ)、鱶鰭(ふかのひれ)）、諸色(しょしき)（昆布(こんぶ)、鯣(するめ)、鶏冠草(とさか)など）の代物替が認められ、長崎問屋がその集荷にあたった。

　しかし、銅の需要の急激な増加は、各地の銅山をたちまち枯渇させ、また輸入品の価格を引き下げるため、長崎輸出銅の価格は市価より非常に安く据え置かれたので、銅の集荷はつねに困難を極めた。俵物も、問屋にかわって俵物役所による直仕入れ制となったが、価格が不当に安いため、漁民の生産意欲を減退させ、輸出品の確保がむずかしかった。輸出品の不足のため、オランダ船、中国船の取引は進まず、期限を過ぎても船が出帆できず、貨物を積み戻すこともあり、他方輸入品の価格は騰貴し、抜荷(ぬけに)（密貿易）も頻発した。1715年（正徳5）「正徳(しょうとく)新例」（海舶互市新例）が発布され、金銀の流出を防止し、銅の取引額を実情にあわせて制限し、中国船は出帆地別に船数と取引高を規制した。

　この後も貿易額の制限はたびたび行われたが、生糸、絹織物、薬種、砂糖などの奢侈(しゃし)品を輸入し、貴金属が流出するという貿易の構造は江戸時代を通じて変わらず、新井白石(あらいはくせき)らの貿易無用論がおこった。

［永積洋子］

『矢野仁一著『長崎市史　通航貿易編東洋諸国部』（1938・長崎市）』▽『箭内健次著『長崎』（1959・至文堂）』▽『山脇悌二郎著『長崎の唐人貿易』（1959・吉川弘文館）』

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