Essay On The Spread Of Trade In Japan

During the early 1700's, trade in Japan was often in Osaka. Osaka is a large port city. 10% of all merchants in Osaka worked in the rice exchange. Osaka was located in Dojima. Since the rice market was in Dojima, that’s what the whole rice exchange was called. Items that were traded nationally included pottery, spices, sugar, gold, iron tools, perfume, soy sauce, tofu, candles, pots and pans, silver, and silk. The bakufu (shogun) controlled all foreign trade. The bakufu was the military government of Japan from 1192 through 1868 CE.

Markets were being developed around the country in medieval Japan. The markets were usually near rivers or by crossroads so that the sellers could bring their things to the markets easily. They were also near temples so that military and political people wouldn’t get too involved. Agriculture got better, and that also helped make the economy bigger. The rice that survived drought and disease was better. Better fertilizers allowed there to be more crops, and better irrigation systems helped farmers grow more crops. Also, the spread of money made out of metal made it easier for markets to sell extra things in the marketplaces.

In 1544 CE they had turned away Japanese attempts to fix the tributary trade. By the middle of the sixteenth century, the Ashikaga shogun, which had accepted official Chinese suzerainty was on its last legs. It was succeeded by a series of three harsh military dictators, Nobunaga, Hideyoshi, and Ieyasu, who created a powerful system of government. Japan became a major silver producer. Rich deposits were discovered in the 1530s. The Chinese market wanted silver, and the gold/silver price ratio was much more favourable to silver in China than in Japan. Because the Chinese would not allow Japanese ships to enter their harbours, the main carriers of Japanese silver to China were Chinese pirates and the