Paper short abstract:

This study focuses on trading passes called shinpai, which were used in the Sino-Japanese trade from 1715 into the 1850s. Drawing upon many Japanese and Chinese documents, this study aims to clarify the mechanism of the shinpai system and the response of Qing authorities to its implementation.

Paper long abstract:

This study focuses on trading passes called shinpai, which were used in the Sino-Japanese trade from 1715 into the 1850s.

It is well known that the Tokugawa shogunate restricted foreign trade in many ways until the middle of the 19th century. While it is true that for the Satsuma, Tsushima and Matsumae domains special rules for trading with foreign countries existed, direct foreign trade with Tokugawa Japan had to pass through the only official port in Nagasaski. The only approved direct trading partners were the Dutch East India Company and Chinese merchants. The volume of trade was limited. This trade was also governed by certain stipulations, one of which was the introduction of a trading pass system for trading with Chinese junks in 1715. This was one of several trading measures issued that year. Taken together they are generally called the Shotoku Shinrei. Under this system, the above-mentioned trading passes (shinpai) were issued only to those Chinese merchants who promised to comply with the shogunate's restrictions. From that time on, only those junks holding shinpai were allowed to trade in Japan.

Even though shinpai can be seen as official passports, the shogunate believed the most important function of these trading passes was to control the scale of the Chinese trade. This system allowed the Tokugawa to adjust the number of junks calling at Nagasaki, and to control the cargos of each junk according to the shogunate's needs by indicating the departure port name on each pass. Although introduced by Japanese authorities one-sidedly, the shinpai was also utilized by the Qing court to import copper from Japan in order to meet the demand for coinage. On this issue there have been several studies, but none of them discussed the ways in which this system functioned in practice, or how Qing authorities utilized the shinpai of Chinese merchants in order to continue the importation of Japanese copper. Drawing upon many seldom-used Japanese and Chinese documents, this study aims to clarify the mechanism of the shinpai system and the response of Qing authorities to its implementation.