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Paper short abstract:

The question how imported commodities were distributed in Medieval Japan was raised by historians in the 1970s. Combined with results in the field of Sino-Japanese relations, this paper aims to provide ideas about possible connections between foreign trade and domestic economy in Muromachi Japan.

Paper long abstract:

The import of Chinese commodities to Muromachi Japan was carried out by official members of Japanese diplomatic missions to Ming China and those others who were on the tributary ships – at least this is what we can say based on the existing sources. What happened to these commodities after their arrival in Japan, how were they distributed in Japanese economy, it is a more difficult question. Sasaki Gin’ya, an expert of Medieval Japanese economy was one of the first historians who raised this question in the 1970s, by mentioning a few possible directions for future research. In addition to this, there is a recent trend in Japanese historical scholarship to reconsider karamono (imported commodities) in Ancient and Medieval Japanese history, art and culture, which also makes it necessary to think about how foreign commodities were imported and consumed within Japan. The aim of this paper is to rethink the connection between foreign trade and domestic economy in Late Medieval Japan and to provide some examples from sources that help us approach to this question. The paper will first look at the financial side of the tributary missions, investigating about the methods of fundraising (for preparing equipment, tribute and trade products etc.) and about those who contributed to the preparation of a tributary ship. Those who invested the most capital, were the “kyakushu” (“guests”), merchants or members of religious institutions, but there were also small-scale investors who were interested in the legendary profit of China-trade. Next, the paper will explain about how Japanese purchased commodities in China and then – by providing examples of karamono that were used as gifts or were sold by their owners to someone else – examine about possible routes and patterns of distribution within the society. In this context the role of curators who were regarded as experts of imported commodities, will also be considered. Based on the analysis of travel diaries and domestic records, this paper will provide ideas about possible connections between foreign trade and domestic economy in Muromachi Japan.