Paddy fields are to be seen in every valley or dell where farming is practicable; they are divided into square, oblong or triangular plots by grass-grown ridges a few inches in height and on an average a foot in breadth—the rice beingRice.planted in the soft mud thus enclosed. Narrow pathways intersect these rice-valleys at intervals, and rivulets (generally flowing between low banks covered with clumps of bamboo) feed ditches cut for purposes of irrigation. The fields are generally kept under water to a depth of a few inches while the crops are young, but are drained immediately before harvesting. They are then dug up, and again flooded before the second crop is planted out. The rising grounds which skirt the rice-land are tilled by the hoe, and produce Indian corn, millet and edible roots. The well-wooded slopes supply the peasants with timber and firewood. Thirty-six per cent. of the rice-fields yield two crops yearly. The seed is sown in small beds, and the seedlings are planted out in the fields after attaining the height of about 4 in. The finest rice is produced in the fertile plains watered by the Tone-gawa in the province of Shimōsa, but the grain of Kaga and of the two central provinces of Settsu and Harima is also very good.Not only does rice form the chief food of the Japanese but also the national beverage, called sake, is brewed from it. In colour the best sake resembles very pale sherry; the tasteSake.is rather acid. None but the finest grain is used in its manufacture. Of sake there are many varieties, from the best quality down toshiro-zakeor “white sake,” and the turbid sort, drunk only in the poorer districts, known asnigori-zake; there is also a sweet sort, calledmirin.The various cereal and other crops cultivated in Japan, the areas devoted to them and the annual production are shown in the following table:—1898.Acres.1902.Acres.1906.Acres.Rice7,044,0607,117,9907,246,982Barley1,649,2401,613,2701,674,595Rye1,703,4101,688,6351,752,095Wheat1,164,0201,210,4351,107,967Millet693,812652,492594,280Beans1,503,3951,488,6001,478,345Buckwheat450,100414,375402,575Rape-seed377,070392,612352,807Potatoes92,297105,350140,197Sweet Potatoes668,130693,427717,620Cotton100,72051,75024,165Hemp62,97042,22734,845Indigo (leaf)122,18092,98240,9101903.1905.1906.Sugar Cane41,75043,30845,087It is observable that no marked increase is taking place in the area under cultivation, and that the business of growing cotton, hemp and indigo is gradually diminishing, these staples being supplied from abroad. In Germany and Italy the annual additions made to the arable area average 8% whereas in Japan the figure is only 5%. Moreover, of the latter amount the rate for paddy fields is only 3.3% against 7.9% in the case of upland farms. This means that the population is rapidly outgrowing its supply of home-produced rice, the great food-stuff of the nation, and the price of that cereal consequently shows a steady tendency to appreciate. Thus whereas the market value was 5s. 5d. per bushel in 1901, it rose to 6s. 9d. in 1906.Scarcely less important to Japan than the cereals she raises are herSilk and Tea.silk and tea, both of which find markets abroad. Her production of the latter staple does not show any sign of marked development, for though tea is almost as essential an article of diet in Japan as rice, its foreign consumers are practically limited to the United States and their demand does not increase. The figures for the 10-year period ended 1906 are as follow:—Area undercultivation (acres).Tea produced(℔ av.).1897147,23070,063,0761901122,12057,975,4861906126,12558,279,286Sericulture, on the contrary, shows steady development year by year. The demand of European and American markets has very elastic limits, and if Japanese growers are content with moderate, but still substantial, gains they can find an almost unrestricted sale in the West. The development from 1886 to 1906 was as follows:—Raw silk producedyearly (℔).Average from 1886 to 18898,739,273189519,087,310190020,705,644190521,630,829190624,215,324The chief silk-producing prefectures in Japan, according to the order of production, are Nagano, Gumma, Yamanashi, Fukushima, Aichi and Saitama. At the close of 1906 there were 3843 filatures throughout the country, and the number of families engaged in sericulture was 397,885.Lacquer, vegetable wax and tobacco are also important staples of production. The figures for the ten-year period, 1897 to 1906, are as follow:—Lacquer(℔).Vegetablewax (℔).Tobacco(℔).1897344,26725,850,790110,572,9251906668,26639,714,661101,718,592While the quantity of certain products increases, the number of filatures and factories diminishes, the inference being that industries are coming to be conducted on a larger scale than was formerly the case. Thus in sericulture the filatures diminished from 4723 in 1897 to 3843 in 1906; the number of lacquer factories from 1637 to 1123 at the same dates, and the number of wax factories from 2619 to 1929.It is generally said that whereas more than 60% of Japan’sAgricultural Improvements.entire population is engaged in agriculture, she remains far behind the progressive nations of Europe in the application of scientific principles to farming. Nevertheless if we take for unit the average value of the yield per hectare in Italy, we obtain the following figures:—Yield per hectareItaly100India51Germany121France122Egypt153Japan213In the realm of agriculture, as in all departments of modern Japan’s material development, abundant traces are found of official activity. Thus, in the year 1900, the government enacted laws designed to correct the excessive subdivision of farmers’ holdings; to utilize unproductive areas lying between cultivated fields; to straighten roads; to facilitate irrigation; to promote the use of machinery; to make known the value of artificial fertilizers; to conserve streams and to prevent inundations. Further, in order to furnish capital for the purposes of farming, 46 agricultural and commercial banks—one in each prefecture—were established with a central institution called the hypothec bank which assists them to collect funds. A Hokkaidō colonial bank and subsequently a bank of Formosa were also organized, and a law was framed to encourage the formation of co-operative societies which should develop a system of credit, assist the business of sale and purchase and concentrate small capitals. Experimental stations were another official creation. Their functions were to carry on investigations relating to seeds, diseases of cereals, insect pests, stock-breeding, the use of implements, the manufacture of agricultural products and cognate matters. Encouragement by grants in aid was also given to the establishment of similar experimental farms by private persons in the various prefectures, and such farms are now to be found everywhere. This official initiative, with equally successful results, extended to the domain of sericulture and tea-growing. There are two state sericultural training institutions where not only the rearing of silk-worms and the management of filatures are taught, but also experiments are made; and these institutions, like the state agricultural stations, have served as models for institutes on the same lines under private auspices. A silk-conditioning house at Yokohama; experimental tea-farms; laws to prevent and remove diseases of plants, cereals, silk-worms and cattle, and regulations to check dishonesty in the matter of fertilizers, complete the record of official efforts in the realm of agriculture during the Meiji era.One of the problems of modern Japan is the supply of cattle. With a rapidly growing taste for beef—which, in former days, was not an article of diet—there is a slow but steady diminution in the stock of cattle. Thus while the numberStock-breeding.of the latter in 1897 was 1,214,163, out of which total 158,504 were slaughtered, the corresponding figures in 1906 were 1,190,373 and 167,458, respectively. The stock of sheep (3500 in 1906) increases slowly, and the stocks of goats (58,694 in 1897 and 74,750 in 1906) and swine (206,217 in 1897 and 284,708 in 1906) grow with somewhat greater rapidity, but mutton and pork do not suit Japanese taste, and goats are kept mainly for the sake of their milk. The government has done much towards the improvement of cattle and horses by importing bulls and sires, but, on the whole, the mixed breed is not a success, and the war with Russia in 1904-5 having clearly disclosed a pressing need of heavier horses for artillery and cavalry purposes, large importations of Australian, American and European cattle are now made, and the organization of race-clubs has been encouraged throughout the country.Forests.—Forests occupy an area of 55 millions of acres, or 60% of the total superficies of Japan, and one-third of that expanse, namely, 18 million acres, approximately, is the property of the state. It cannot be said that any very practical attempt has yet been made to develop this source of wealth. The receipts from forests stood at only 13 millionyenin the budget for 1907-1908, and even that figure compares favourably with the revenue of only 3 millions derived from the same source in the fiscal year 1904-1905. This failure to utilize a valuable asset is chiefly due to defective communications, but the demand for timber has already begun to increase. In 1907 a revised forestry law was promulgated, according to which the administration is competent to prevent the destruction of forests and to cause the planting of plains and waste-lands, or the re-planting of denuded areas. A plan was also elaborated for systematically turning the state forests to valuable account, while, at the same time, providing for their conservation.Fisheries.—From ancient times the Japanese have been great fishermen. The seas that encircle their many-coasted islands teem with fish and aquatic products, which have always constituted an essential article of diet. Early in the 18th century, the Tokugawa administration, in pursuance of a policy of isolation, interdicted the construction of ocean-going ships, and the people’s enterprise in the matter of deep-sea fishing suffered a severe check. But shortly after the Restoration in 1867, not only was this veto rescinded, but also the government, organizing a marine bureau and a marine products examination office, took vigorous measures to promote pelagic industry. Then followed the formation of the marine products association under the presidency of an imperial prince. Fishery training schools were the next step; then periodical exhibitions of fishery and marine products; then the introduction and improvement of fishing implements; and then by rapid strides the area of operations widened until Japanese fishing boats of improved types came to be seen in Australasia, in Canada, in the seas of Sakhalin, the Maritime Province, Korea and China; in the waters of Kamchatka and in the Sea of Okhotsk. No less than 9000 fishermen with 2000 boats capture yearly about £300,000 worth of fish in Korean waters; at least 8000 find a plentiful livelihood off the coasts of Sakhalin and Siberia, and 200 Japanese boats engage in the salmon-fishing of the Fraser River. In 1893, the total value of Japanese marine products and fish captured did not exceed 1¼ millions sterling, whereas in 1906 the figure had grown to 5½ millions, to which must be added 31⁄8millions of manufactured marine products. Fourteen kinds of fish represent more than 50% of the whole catch, namely, (in the order of their importance) bonito (katsuo), sardines (iwashi), pagrus (toi), cuttle-fish and squid (takoandika), mackerel (saba), yellow tail (buri), tunny-fish (maguro), prawns (ebi), sole (karei), grey mullet (bora), eels (unagi), salmon (shake), sea-ear (awabi) and carp (koi). Altogether 700 kinds of aquatic products are known in Japan, and 400 of them constitute articles of diet. Among manufactured aquatic products the chief are (in the order of their importance) dried bonito, fish guano, dried cuttle-fish, dried and boiled sardines, dried herring and dried prawns. The export of marine products amounted to £900,000 in 1906 against £400,000 ten years previously; China is the chief market. As for imports, they were insignificant at the beginning of the Meiji era, but by degrees a demand was created for salted fish, dried sardines (for fertilizing), edible sea-weed, canned fish and turtle-shell, so that whereas the total imports were only £1600 in 1868, they grew to over £400,000 in 1906.Minerals.—Crystalline schists form the axis of Japan. They run in a general direction from south-west to north-east, with chains starting east and west from Shikoku. On these schists rocks of every age are superimposed, and amid these somewhat complicated geological conditions numerous minerals occur. Precious stones, however, are not found, though crystals of quartz and antimony as well as good specimens of topaz and agate are not infrequent.Gold occurs in quartz veins among schists, paleozoic or volcanicGold.rocks and in placers. The quantity obtained is not large, but it shows tolerably steady development, and may possibly be much increased by more generous use of capital and larger recourse to modern methods.The value of the silver mined is approximately equal to that ofSilver.the gold. It is found chiefly in volcanic rocks (especially tuff), in the form of sulphide, and it is usually associated with gold, copper, lead or zinc.Much more important in Japan’s economics than either of theCopper.precious metals is copper. Veins often showing a thickness of from 70 to 80 ft., though of poor quality (2 to 8%), are found bedded in crystalline schists or paleozoic sedimentary rocks, but the richest (10 to 30%) occur in tuff and other volcanic rocks.There have not yet been found any evidences that Japan is rich in iron ores. Her largest known deposit (magnetite) occurs atIron.Kamaishi in Iwate prefecture, but the quantity of pig-iron produced from the ore mined there does not exceed 37,000 tons annually, and Japan is obliged to import from the neighbouring continent the greater part of the iron needed by her for ship-building and armaments.Considerable deposits of coal exist, both anthracite and bituminous. The former, found chiefly at Amakusa, is not greatly inferior to the Cardiff mineral; and the latter—obtained in abundance in Kiūushiū and Yezo—is a brown coal of good mediumCoal.quality. Altogether there are 29 coal-fields now actually worked in Japan, and she obtained an important addition to her sources of supply in the sequel to the war with Russia, when the Fushun mines near Mukden, Manchuria, were transferred to her. During the 10 years ending in 1906, the market value of the coal mined in Japan grew from less than 2 millions sterling to over 6 millions.Petroleum also has of late sprung into prominence on the list of her mineral products. The oil-bearing strata—which occur mainly in tertiary rocks—extend from Yezo to Formosa, but the principal are in Echigo, which yields the greaterPetroleum.part of the petroleum now obtained, the Yezo and Formosa wellsbeing still little exploited, the quantity of petroleum obtained in Japan in 1897 was 9 million gallons, whereas the quantity obtained in 1906 was 55 millions.Japanese mining enterprise was more than trebled during the decade 1897 to 1906, for the value of the minerals taken out in the former year was only 3½ millions sterling, whereas the corresponding figure for 1906 was 11 millions. The earliest mention of gold-mining in Japan takes us back to the yearA.D.696, and by the 16th century the country had acquired the reputation of being rich in gold. During the days of her medieval intercourse with the outer world, her stores of the precious metals were largely reduced, for between the years 1602 and 1766, Holland, Spain, Portugal and China took from her 313,800 ℔ (troy) of gold and 11,230,000 ℔ of silver.Copper occupied a scarcely less important place in Old Japan. From a period long anterior to historic times this metal was employed to manufacture mirrors and swords, and the introduction of Buddhism in the 6th century was quickly followed by the casting of sacred images, many of which still survive. Finding in the 18th century that her foreign intercourse not only had largely denuded her of gold and silver, but also threatened to denude her of copper, Japan set a limit (3415 tons) to the yearly export of the latter metal. After the resumption of administrative power by the emperor in 1867, attention was quickly directed to the question of mineral resources; several Western experts were employed to conduct surveys and introduce Occidental mining methods, and ten of the most important mines were worked under the direct auspices of the state in order to serve as object lessons. Subsequently these mines were all transferred to private hands, and the government now retains possession of only a few iron and coal mines whose products are needed for dockyard and arsenal purposes. The following table shows the recent progress and present condition of mining industry in Japan:—GoldSilverCopperLeadQuantity.oz.Value.£Quantity.oz.Value.£Quantity.Tons.Value.£QuantityTons.Value.£189734,553136,8341,809,805208,20019,722869,26674610,343190182,517330,0761,824,842211,68226,4951,625,2441,74424,640190690,842363,7152,623,212243,91437,2543,007,9922,72149,690IronCoalPetroleumSulphurQuantity.Tons.Value.£Quantity.Tons.Value.£Quantity.Gallons.Value.£QuantityTons.Value.£189735,178103,5595,229,6621,899,5929,248,80044,38913,13833,588190146,456123,7019,025,3253,060,93139,351,960227,84116,00738,612190685,203268,91112,980,1036,314,40055,135,880314,55027,40661,386AntimonyManganeseOthersQuantity.Tons.Value.£Quantity.Tons.Value.£Value.£Total Values.£18971,13327,36213,1758,7583,8633,345,662190152913,48115,73810,8463,4505,670,508190629322,86212,32251,36541,33810,839,783The number of mine employees in 1907 was 190,000, in round numbers; the number of mining companies, 189; and the aggregate paid-up capital, 10 millions sterling.
Paddy fields are to be seen in every valley or dell where farming is practicable; they are divided into square, oblong or triangular plots by grass-grown ridges a few inches in height and on an average a foot in breadth—the rice beingRice.planted in the soft mud thus enclosed. Narrow pathways intersect these rice-valleys at intervals, and rivulets (generally flowing between low banks covered with clumps of bamboo) feed ditches cut for purposes of irrigation. The fields are generally kept under water to a depth of a few inches while the crops are young, but are drained immediately before harvesting. They are then dug up, and again flooded before the second crop is planted out. The rising grounds which skirt the rice-land are tilled by the hoe, and produce Indian corn, millet and edible roots. The well-wooded slopes supply the peasants with timber and firewood. Thirty-six per cent. of the rice-fields yield two crops yearly. The seed is sown in small beds, and the seedlings are planted out in the fields after attaining the height of about 4 in. The finest rice is produced in the fertile plains watered by the Tone-gawa in the province of Shimōsa, but the grain of Kaga and of the two central provinces of Settsu and Harima is also very good.
Not only does rice form the chief food of the Japanese but also the national beverage, called sake, is brewed from it. In colour the best sake resembles very pale sherry; the tasteSake.is rather acid. None but the finest grain is used in its manufacture. Of sake there are many varieties, from the best quality down toshiro-zakeor “white sake,” and the turbid sort, drunk only in the poorer districts, known asnigori-zake; there is also a sweet sort, calledmirin.
The various cereal and other crops cultivated in Japan, the areas devoted to them and the annual production are shown in the following table:—
It is observable that no marked increase is taking place in the area under cultivation, and that the business of growing cotton, hemp and indigo is gradually diminishing, these staples being supplied from abroad. In Germany and Italy the annual additions made to the arable area average 8% whereas in Japan the figure is only 5%. Moreover, of the latter amount the rate for paddy fields is only 3.3% against 7.9% in the case of upland farms. This means that the population is rapidly outgrowing its supply of home-produced rice, the great food-stuff of the nation, and the price of that cereal consequently shows a steady tendency to appreciate. Thus whereas the market value was 5s. 5d. per bushel in 1901, it rose to 6s. 9d. in 1906.
Scarcely less important to Japan than the cereals she raises are herSilk and Tea.silk and tea, both of which find markets abroad. Her production of the latter staple does not show any sign of marked development, for though tea is almost as essential an article of diet in Japan as rice, its foreign consumers are practically limited to the United States and their demand does not increase. The figures for the 10-year period ended 1906 are as follow:—
Sericulture, on the contrary, shows steady development year by year. The demand of European and American markets has very elastic limits, and if Japanese growers are content with moderate, but still substantial, gains they can find an almost unrestricted sale in the West. The development from 1886 to 1906 was as follows:—
The chief silk-producing prefectures in Japan, according to the order of production, are Nagano, Gumma, Yamanashi, Fukushima, Aichi and Saitama. At the close of 1906 there were 3843 filatures throughout the country, and the number of families engaged in sericulture was 397,885.
Lacquer, vegetable wax and tobacco are also important staples of production. The figures for the ten-year period, 1897 to 1906, are as follow:—
While the quantity of certain products increases, the number of filatures and factories diminishes, the inference being that industries are coming to be conducted on a larger scale than was formerly the case. Thus in sericulture the filatures diminished from 4723 in 1897 to 3843 in 1906; the number of lacquer factories from 1637 to 1123 at the same dates, and the number of wax factories from 2619 to 1929.
It is generally said that whereas more than 60% of Japan’sAgricultural Improvements.entire population is engaged in agriculture, she remains far behind the progressive nations of Europe in the application of scientific principles to farming. Nevertheless if we take for unit the average value of the yield per hectare in Italy, we obtain the following figures:—
In the realm of agriculture, as in all departments of modern Japan’s material development, abundant traces are found of official activity. Thus, in the year 1900, the government enacted laws designed to correct the excessive subdivision of farmers’ holdings; to utilize unproductive areas lying between cultivated fields; to straighten roads; to facilitate irrigation; to promote the use of machinery; to make known the value of artificial fertilizers; to conserve streams and to prevent inundations. Further, in order to furnish capital for the purposes of farming, 46 agricultural and commercial banks—one in each prefecture—were established with a central institution called the hypothec bank which assists them to collect funds. A Hokkaidō colonial bank and subsequently a bank of Formosa were also organized, and a law was framed to encourage the formation of co-operative societies which should develop a system of credit, assist the business of sale and purchase and concentrate small capitals. Experimental stations were another official creation. Their functions were to carry on investigations relating to seeds, diseases of cereals, insect pests, stock-breeding, the use of implements, the manufacture of agricultural products and cognate matters. Encouragement by grants in aid was also given to the establishment of similar experimental farms by private persons in the various prefectures, and such farms are now to be found everywhere. This official initiative, with equally successful results, extended to the domain of sericulture and tea-growing. There are two state sericultural training institutions where not only the rearing of silk-worms and the management of filatures are taught, but also experiments are made; and these institutions, like the state agricultural stations, have served as models for institutes on the same lines under private auspices. A silk-conditioning house at Yokohama; experimental tea-farms; laws to prevent and remove diseases of plants, cereals, silk-worms and cattle, and regulations to check dishonesty in the matter of fertilizers, complete the record of official efforts in the realm of agriculture during the Meiji era.
One of the problems of modern Japan is the supply of cattle. With a rapidly growing taste for beef—which, in former days, was not an article of diet—there is a slow but steady diminution in the stock of cattle. Thus while the numberStock-breeding.of the latter in 1897 was 1,214,163, out of which total 158,504 were slaughtered, the corresponding figures in 1906 were 1,190,373 and 167,458, respectively. The stock of sheep (3500 in 1906) increases slowly, and the stocks of goats (58,694 in 1897 and 74,750 in 1906) and swine (206,217 in 1897 and 284,708 in 1906) grow with somewhat greater rapidity, but mutton and pork do not suit Japanese taste, and goats are kept mainly for the sake of their milk. The government has done much towards the improvement of cattle and horses by importing bulls and sires, but, on the whole, the mixed breed is not a success, and the war with Russia in 1904-5 having clearly disclosed a pressing need of heavier horses for artillery and cavalry purposes, large importations of Australian, American and European cattle are now made, and the organization of race-clubs has been encouraged throughout the country.
Forests.—Forests occupy an area of 55 millions of acres, or 60% of the total superficies of Japan, and one-third of that expanse, namely, 18 million acres, approximately, is the property of the state. It cannot be said that any very practical attempt has yet been made to develop this source of wealth. The receipts from forests stood at only 13 millionyenin the budget for 1907-1908, and even that figure compares favourably with the revenue of only 3 millions derived from the same source in the fiscal year 1904-1905. This failure to utilize a valuable asset is chiefly due to defective communications, but the demand for timber has already begun to increase. In 1907 a revised forestry law was promulgated, according to which the administration is competent to prevent the destruction of forests and to cause the planting of plains and waste-lands, or the re-planting of denuded areas. A plan was also elaborated for systematically turning the state forests to valuable account, while, at the same time, providing for their conservation.
Fisheries.—From ancient times the Japanese have been great fishermen. The seas that encircle their many-coasted islands teem with fish and aquatic products, which have always constituted an essential article of diet. Early in the 18th century, the Tokugawa administration, in pursuance of a policy of isolation, interdicted the construction of ocean-going ships, and the people’s enterprise in the matter of deep-sea fishing suffered a severe check. But shortly after the Restoration in 1867, not only was this veto rescinded, but also the government, organizing a marine bureau and a marine products examination office, took vigorous measures to promote pelagic industry. Then followed the formation of the marine products association under the presidency of an imperial prince. Fishery training schools were the next step; then periodical exhibitions of fishery and marine products; then the introduction and improvement of fishing implements; and then by rapid strides the area of operations widened until Japanese fishing boats of improved types came to be seen in Australasia, in Canada, in the seas of Sakhalin, the Maritime Province, Korea and China; in the waters of Kamchatka and in the Sea of Okhotsk. No less than 9000 fishermen with 2000 boats capture yearly about £300,000 worth of fish in Korean waters; at least 8000 find a plentiful livelihood off the coasts of Sakhalin and Siberia, and 200 Japanese boats engage in the salmon-fishing of the Fraser River. In 1893, the total value of Japanese marine products and fish captured did not exceed 1¼ millions sterling, whereas in 1906 the figure had grown to 5½ millions, to which must be added 31⁄8millions of manufactured marine products. Fourteen kinds of fish represent more than 50% of the whole catch, namely, (in the order of their importance) bonito (katsuo), sardines (iwashi), pagrus (toi), cuttle-fish and squid (takoandika), mackerel (saba), yellow tail (buri), tunny-fish (maguro), prawns (ebi), sole (karei), grey mullet (bora), eels (unagi), salmon (shake), sea-ear (awabi) and carp (koi). Altogether 700 kinds of aquatic products are known in Japan, and 400 of them constitute articles of diet. Among manufactured aquatic products the chief are (in the order of their importance) dried bonito, fish guano, dried cuttle-fish, dried and boiled sardines, dried herring and dried prawns. The export of marine products amounted to £900,000 in 1906 against £400,000 ten years previously; China is the chief market. As for imports, they were insignificant at the beginning of the Meiji era, but by degrees a demand was created for salted fish, dried sardines (for fertilizing), edible sea-weed, canned fish and turtle-shell, so that whereas the total imports were only £1600 in 1868, they grew to over £400,000 in 1906.
Minerals.—Crystalline schists form the axis of Japan. They run in a general direction from south-west to north-east, with chains starting east and west from Shikoku. On these schists rocks of every age are superimposed, and amid these somewhat complicated geological conditions numerous minerals occur. Precious stones, however, are not found, though crystals of quartz and antimony as well as good specimens of topaz and agate are not infrequent.
Gold occurs in quartz veins among schists, paleozoic or volcanicGold.rocks and in placers. The quantity obtained is not large, but it shows tolerably steady development, and may possibly be much increased by more generous use of capital and larger recourse to modern methods.
The value of the silver mined is approximately equal to that ofSilver.the gold. It is found chiefly in volcanic rocks (especially tuff), in the form of sulphide, and it is usually associated with gold, copper, lead or zinc.
Much more important in Japan’s economics than either of theCopper.precious metals is copper. Veins often showing a thickness of from 70 to 80 ft., though of poor quality (2 to 8%), are found bedded in crystalline schists or paleozoic sedimentary rocks, but the richest (10 to 30%) occur in tuff and other volcanic rocks.
There have not yet been found any evidences that Japan is rich in iron ores. Her largest known deposit (magnetite) occurs atIron.Kamaishi in Iwate prefecture, but the quantity of pig-iron produced from the ore mined there does not exceed 37,000 tons annually, and Japan is obliged to import from the neighbouring continent the greater part of the iron needed by her for ship-building and armaments.
Considerable deposits of coal exist, both anthracite and bituminous. The former, found chiefly at Amakusa, is not greatly inferior to the Cardiff mineral; and the latter—obtained in abundance in Kiūushiū and Yezo—is a brown coal of good mediumCoal.quality. Altogether there are 29 coal-fields now actually worked in Japan, and she obtained an important addition to her sources of supply in the sequel to the war with Russia, when the Fushun mines near Mukden, Manchuria, were transferred to her. During the 10 years ending in 1906, the market value of the coal mined in Japan grew from less than 2 millions sterling to over 6 millions.
Petroleum also has of late sprung into prominence on the list of her mineral products. The oil-bearing strata—which occur mainly in tertiary rocks—extend from Yezo to Formosa, but the principal are in Echigo, which yields the greaterPetroleum.part of the petroleum now obtained, the Yezo and Formosa wellsbeing still little exploited, the quantity of petroleum obtained in Japan in 1897 was 9 million gallons, whereas the quantity obtained in 1906 was 55 millions.
Japanese mining enterprise was more than trebled during the decade 1897 to 1906, for the value of the minerals taken out in the former year was only 3½ millions sterling, whereas the corresponding figure for 1906 was 11 millions. The earliest mention of gold-mining in Japan takes us back to the yearA.D.696, and by the 16th century the country had acquired the reputation of being rich in gold. During the days of her medieval intercourse with the outer world, her stores of the precious metals were largely reduced, for between the years 1602 and 1766, Holland, Spain, Portugal and China took from her 313,800 ℔ (troy) of gold and 11,230,000 ℔ of silver.
Copper occupied a scarcely less important place in Old Japan. From a period long anterior to historic times this metal was employed to manufacture mirrors and swords, and the introduction of Buddhism in the 6th century was quickly followed by the casting of sacred images, many of which still survive. Finding in the 18th century that her foreign intercourse not only had largely denuded her of gold and silver, but also threatened to denude her of copper, Japan set a limit (3415 tons) to the yearly export of the latter metal. After the resumption of administrative power by the emperor in 1867, attention was quickly directed to the question of mineral resources; several Western experts were employed to conduct surveys and introduce Occidental mining methods, and ten of the most important mines were worked under the direct auspices of the state in order to serve as object lessons. Subsequently these mines were all transferred to private hands, and the government now retains possession of only a few iron and coal mines whose products are needed for dockyard and arsenal purposes. The following table shows the recent progress and present condition of mining industry in Japan:—
The number of mine employees in 1907 was 190,000, in round numbers; the number of mining companies, 189; and the aggregate paid-up capital, 10 millions sterling.
Industries.—In the beginning of the Meiji era Japan was practically without any manufacturing industries, as the term is understood in the Occident, and she had not so much as one joint-stock company. At the end of 1906, her joint-stock companies and partnerships totalled 9329, their paid up capital exceeded 100 millions sterling, and their reserves totalled 26 millions. It is not to be inferred, however, from the absence of manufacturing organizations 50 years ago that such pursuits were deliberately eschewed or despised in Japan. On the contrary, at the very dawn of the historical epoch we find that sections of the people took their names from the work carried on by them, and that specimens of expert industry were preserved in the sovereign’s palace side by side with the imperial insignia. Further, skilled artisans from the neighbouring continent always found a welcome in Japan, and when Korea was successfully invaded in early times, one of the uses which the victors made of their conquest was to import Korean weavers and dyers. Subsequently the advent of Buddhism, with its demand for images, temples, gorgeous vestments and rich paraphernalia, gave a marked impulse to the development of artistic industry, which at the outset took its models from China, India and Greece, but gradually, while assimilating many of the best features of the continental schools, subjected them to such great modifications in accordance with Japanese genius that they ceased to retain more than a trace of their originals. From the 9th century luxurious habits prevailed in Kiōto under the sway of the Fujiwara regents, and the imperial city’s munificent patronage drew to its precincts a crowd of artisans. But these were not industrials, in the Western sense of the term, and, further, their organization was essentially domestic, each family selecting its own pursuit and following it from generation to generation without co-operation or partnership with any outsider. The establishment of military feudalism in the 12th century brought a reaction from the effeminate luxury of the metropolis, and during nearly 300 years no industry enjoyed large popularity except that of the armourer and the sword-smith. No sooner, however, did the prowess of Oda Nobunaga and, above all, of Hideyoshi, the taikō, bring within sight a cessation of civil war and the unification of the country, than the taste for beautiful objects and artistic utensils recovered vitality. By degrees there grew up among the feudal barons a keen rivalry in art industry, and the shōgun’s court in Yedo set a standard which the feudatories constantly strove to attain. Ultimately, in the days immediately antecedent to its fall, the shōgun’s administration sought to induce a more logical system by encouraging local manufacturers to supply local needs only, leaving to Kiōto and Yedo the duty of catering to general wants.
But before this reform had approached maturity, the second advent of Western nations introduced to Japan the products of an industrial civilization centuries in advance of her own from the point of view of utility, though nowise superior in the application of art. Immediately the nation became alive to the necessity of correcting its own inferiority in this respect. But the people being entirely without models for organization, without financial machinery and without the idea of joint stock enterprise, the government had to choose between entering the field as an instructor, and leaving the nation to struggle along an arduous and expensive way to tardy development. There could be no question as to which course would conduce more to the general advantage, and thus, in days immediately subsequent to the resumption of administrative power by the emperor, the spectacle was seen of official excursions into the domains of silk-reeling, cement-making, cotton and silk spinning, brick-burning, printing and book-binding, soap-boiling, type-casting and ceramic decoration, to say nothing of their establishing colleges and schools where all branches of applied science were taught. Domestic exhibitions also were organized, and specimens cf the country’s products and manufactures were sent under government auspices to exhibitions abroad. On the other hand, the effect of this new departure along Western lines could not but be injurious to the old domestic industries of the country, especially to those which owed their existence to tastes and traditions now regarded as obsolete. Here again the government came to the rescue by establishing a firm whose functions were to familiarize foreign markets with the products of Japanese artisans, and to instruct the latter in adaptations likely to appeal to Occidental taste. Steps were also taken for training women as artisans, and the government printing bureau set the example of employing female labour, an innovation which soon developed large dimensions. In short, the authorities applied themselves to educate an industrial disposition throughout the country, and as soon as success seemed to be in sight, they gradually transferred from official to private direction the various model enterprises, retaining only such as were required to supply the needs of the state.
The result of all this effort was that whereas, in the beginning of the Meiji era, Japan had virtually no industries worthy of the name, she possessed in 1896—that is to say, after an interval of 25 yearsof effort—no less than 4595 industrial and commercial companies, joint stock or partnership, with a paid-up capital of 40 millions sterling. Her development during the decade ending in 1906 is shown in the following table:—Number ofcompanies.Paid-up capital(millions sterling).Reserves(millionssterling).18976,11353619018,602831219069,32910726What effect this development exercised upon the country’s over-sea trade may be inferred from the fact that, whereas the manufactured goods exported in 1870 were nil, their value in 1901 was 8 millions sterling, and in 1906 the figure rose to over 20 millions. In the following table are given some facts relating to the principal industries in which foreign markets are interested:—Cotton YarnsSpindles.Operatives.Quantityproduced.Remarks.Male.Female.℔This is a wholly newindustry in Japan. It hadno existence before theMeiji era.1897768,3289,93335,059216,913,19619011,181,76213,48149,540274,861,38019061,425,40613,03259,281383,359,113Woven GoodsLooms.Operatives.Market valueof products.Remarks.Male.Female.Millions sterling.It is observable that a decreasein the number of operatives isconcurrent with an increase ofproduction.1897947,13454,119987,110191901719,55043,172747,946241906736,82840,886751,60536MatchesFamiliesengaged.Operatives.Quantityproduced.Value.RemarksMale.Female.Gross.£This is an altogether newindustry. Japanese matchesnow hold the leading placein all Far-Eastern markets.189726921,44726,27724,038,960654,84919012615,65616,5032,901,319926,68919062505,46818,72154,802,2931,551,698Foreign Paper(as distinguished from Japanese)Factories.Operatives.Quantityproduced.Value.Remarks.Male.Female.℔£Had not Japanese factoriesbeen established all this papermust have been imported.1897916410946,256,649300,6621901132,6351,397113,348,340714,0941906223,7741,778218,022,4341,415,778In the field of what may be called minor manufactures—as ceramic wares, lacquers, straw-plaits, &c.—there has been corresponding growth, for the value of these productions increased from 1¼ millions sterling in 1897 to 3½ millions in 1906. But as these manufactures do not enter into competition with foreign goods in either Eastern or Western markets, they are interesting only as showing the development of Japan’s producing power. They contribute nothing to the solution of the problem whether Japanese industries are destined ultimately to drive their foreign rivals from the markets of Asia, if not to compete injuriously with them even in Europe and America. Japan seems to have one great advantage over Occidental countries: she possesses an abundance of dexterous and exceptionally cheap labour. It has been said, indeed, that this latter advantage is not likely to be permanent, since the wages of labour and the cost of living are fast increasing. The average cost of labour doubled in the interval between 1895 and 1906, but, on the other hand, the number of manufacturing organizations doubled in the same time, while the amount of their paid-up capital nearly trebled. As to the necessaries of life, if those specially affected by government monopolies be excluded, the rate of appreciation between 1900 and 1906 averaged about 30%, and it thus appears that the cost of living is not increasing with the same rapidity as the remuneration earned by labour. The manufacturing progress of the nation seems, therefore, to have a bright future, the only serious impediment being deficient capital. There is abundance of coal, and steps have been taken on a large scale to utilize the many excellent opportunities which the country offers for developing electricity by water-power.The fact that Japan’s exports of raw silk amount to more than 12 millions sterling, while she sends over-sea only 3½ millions’ worth of silk fabrics, suggests some marked inferiority on the part of her weavers. But the true explanationSilk-weavingseems to be that her distance from the Occident handicaps her in catering for the changing fashions of the West. There cannot be any doubt that the skill of Japanese weavers was at one time eminent. The sun goddess herself, the predominant figure in the Japanese pantheon, is said to have practised weaving; the names of four varieties of woven fabrics were known in prehistoric times; the 3rd century of the Christian era saw the arrival of a Korean maker of cloth; after him came an influx of Chinese who were distributed throughout the country to improve the arts of sericulture and silk-weaving; a sovereign (Yuriaku) of the 5th century employed 92 groups of naturalized Chinese for similar purposes; in 421 the same emperor issued a decree encouraging the culture of mulberry trees and calling for taxes on silk and cotton; the manufacture of textiles was directly supervised by the consort of this sovereign; in 645 a bureau of weaving was established; many other evidences are conclusive as to the great antiquity of the art of silk and cotton weaving in Japan.The coming of Buddhism in the 6th century contributed not a little to the development of the art, since not only did the priests require for their own vestments and for the decoration of temples silken fabrics of more and more gorgeous description, but also these holy men themselves, careful always to keep touch with the continental developments of their faith, made frequent voyages to China, whence they brought back to Japan a knowledge of whatever technical or artistic improvements the Middle Kingdom could show. When Kiōto became the permanent metropolis of the empire, at the close of the 8th century, a bureau was established for weaving brocades and rich silk stuffs to be used in the palace. This preluded an era of some three centuries of steadily developing luxury in Kiōto; an era when an essential part of every aristocratic mansion’s furniture was a collection of magnificent silk robes for use in the sumptuousNō. Then, in the 15th century came the “Tea Ceremonial,” when the brocade mountings of a picture or the wrapper of a tiny tea-jar possessed an almost incredible value, and such skill was attained by weavers and dyers that even fragments of the fabrics produced by them command extravagant prices to-day. Kiōto always remained, and still remains, the chief producing centre, and to such a degree has the science of colour been developed there that no less than 4000 varieties of tint are distinguished. The sense of colour, indeed, seems to have been a special endowment of the Japanese people from the earliest times, and some of the combinations handed down from medieval times are treasured as incomparable examples. During the long era of peace under the Tokugawa administration the costumes of men and women showed an increasing tendency to richness and beauty. This culminated in the Genroku epoch (1688-1700), and the aristocracy of the present day delight in viewing histrionic performances where the costumes of that age and of its rival, the Momoyama (end of the 16th century) are reproduced.It would be possible to draw up a formidable catalogue of the various kinds of silk fabrics manufactured in Japan before the opening of the Meiji era, and the signal ability of her weavers has derived a new impulse from contact with the Occident. Machinery has been largely introduced, and though the products of hand-looms still enjoy the reputation of greater durability, there has unquestionably been a marked development of producing power. Japanese looms now turn out about 17 millions sterling of silk textiles, of which less than 4 millions go abroad. Nor is increased quantity alone to be noted, for at the factory of Kawashima in Kiōto Gobelins are produced such as have never been rivalled elsewhere.
The result of all this effort was that whereas, in the beginning of the Meiji era, Japan had virtually no industries worthy of the name, she possessed in 1896—that is to say, after an interval of 25 yearsof effort—no less than 4595 industrial and commercial companies, joint stock or partnership, with a paid-up capital of 40 millions sterling. Her development during the decade ending in 1906 is shown in the following table:—
What effect this development exercised upon the country’s over-sea trade may be inferred from the fact that, whereas the manufactured goods exported in 1870 were nil, their value in 1901 was 8 millions sterling, and in 1906 the figure rose to over 20 millions. In the following table are given some facts relating to the principal industries in which foreign markets are interested:—
Cotton Yarns
Woven Goods
Matches
Foreign Paper(as distinguished from Japanese)
In the field of what may be called minor manufactures—as ceramic wares, lacquers, straw-plaits, &c.—there has been corresponding growth, for the value of these productions increased from 1¼ millions sterling in 1897 to 3½ millions in 1906. But as these manufactures do not enter into competition with foreign goods in either Eastern or Western markets, they are interesting only as showing the development of Japan’s producing power. They contribute nothing to the solution of the problem whether Japanese industries are destined ultimately to drive their foreign rivals from the markets of Asia, if not to compete injuriously with them even in Europe and America. Japan seems to have one great advantage over Occidental countries: she possesses an abundance of dexterous and exceptionally cheap labour. It has been said, indeed, that this latter advantage is not likely to be permanent, since the wages of labour and the cost of living are fast increasing. The average cost of labour doubled in the interval between 1895 and 1906, but, on the other hand, the number of manufacturing organizations doubled in the same time, while the amount of their paid-up capital nearly trebled. As to the necessaries of life, if those specially affected by government monopolies be excluded, the rate of appreciation between 1900 and 1906 averaged about 30%, and it thus appears that the cost of living is not increasing with the same rapidity as the remuneration earned by labour. The manufacturing progress of the nation seems, therefore, to have a bright future, the only serious impediment being deficient capital. There is abundance of coal, and steps have been taken on a large scale to utilize the many excellent opportunities which the country offers for developing electricity by water-power.
The fact that Japan’s exports of raw silk amount to more than 12 millions sterling, while she sends over-sea only 3½ millions’ worth of silk fabrics, suggests some marked inferiority on the part of her weavers. But the true explanationSilk-weavingseems to be that her distance from the Occident handicaps her in catering for the changing fashions of the West. There cannot be any doubt that the skill of Japanese weavers was at one time eminent. The sun goddess herself, the predominant figure in the Japanese pantheon, is said to have practised weaving; the names of four varieties of woven fabrics were known in prehistoric times; the 3rd century of the Christian era saw the arrival of a Korean maker of cloth; after him came an influx of Chinese who were distributed throughout the country to improve the arts of sericulture and silk-weaving; a sovereign (Yuriaku) of the 5th century employed 92 groups of naturalized Chinese for similar purposes; in 421 the same emperor issued a decree encouraging the culture of mulberry trees and calling for taxes on silk and cotton; the manufacture of textiles was directly supervised by the consort of this sovereign; in 645 a bureau of weaving was established; many other evidences are conclusive as to the great antiquity of the art of silk and cotton weaving in Japan.
The coming of Buddhism in the 6th century contributed not a little to the development of the art, since not only did the priests require for their own vestments and for the decoration of temples silken fabrics of more and more gorgeous description, but also these holy men themselves, careful always to keep touch with the continental developments of their faith, made frequent voyages to China, whence they brought back to Japan a knowledge of whatever technical or artistic improvements the Middle Kingdom could show. When Kiōto became the permanent metropolis of the empire, at the close of the 8th century, a bureau was established for weaving brocades and rich silk stuffs to be used in the palace. This preluded an era of some three centuries of steadily developing luxury in Kiōto; an era when an essential part of every aristocratic mansion’s furniture was a collection of magnificent silk robes for use in the sumptuousNō. Then, in the 15th century came the “Tea Ceremonial,” when the brocade mountings of a picture or the wrapper of a tiny tea-jar possessed an almost incredible value, and such skill was attained by weavers and dyers that even fragments of the fabrics produced by them command extravagant prices to-day. Kiōto always remained, and still remains, the chief producing centre, and to such a degree has the science of colour been developed there that no less than 4000 varieties of tint are distinguished. The sense of colour, indeed, seems to have been a special endowment of the Japanese people from the earliest times, and some of the combinations handed down from medieval times are treasured as incomparable examples. During the long era of peace under the Tokugawa administration the costumes of men and women showed an increasing tendency to richness and beauty. This culminated in the Genroku epoch (1688-1700), and the aristocracy of the present day delight in viewing histrionic performances where the costumes of that age and of its rival, the Momoyama (end of the 16th century) are reproduced.
It would be possible to draw up a formidable catalogue of the various kinds of silk fabrics manufactured in Japan before the opening of the Meiji era, and the signal ability of her weavers has derived a new impulse from contact with the Occident. Machinery has been largely introduced, and though the products of hand-looms still enjoy the reputation of greater durability, there has unquestionably been a marked development of producing power. Japanese looms now turn out about 17 millions sterling of silk textiles, of which less than 4 millions go abroad. Nor is increased quantity alone to be noted, for at the factory of Kawashima in Kiōto Gobelins are produced such as have never been rivalled elsewhere.
Commerce in Tokugawa Times.—The conditions existing in Japan during the two hundred and fifty years prefatory to the modern opening of the country were unfavourable to the development alike of national and of international trade. As to the former, the system of feudal government exercised a crippling influence, for each feudal chief endeavoured to check the exit of any kind of property from his fief, and free interchange ofcommodities was thus prevented so effectually that cases are recorded of one feudatory’s subjects dying of starvation while those of an adjoining fief enjoyed abundance. International commerce, on the other hand, lay under the veto of the central government, which punished with death anyone attempting to hold intercourse with foreigners. Thus the fiefs practised a policy of mutual seclusion at home, and united to maintain a policy of general seclusion abroad. Yet it was under the feudal system that the most signal development of Japanese trade took place, and since the processes of that development have much historical interest they invite close attention.
As the bulk of a feudal chief’s income was paid in rice, arrangements had to be made for sending the grain to market and transmitting its proceeds. This was effected originally by establishing in Osaka stores (kura-yashiki), under the charge of samurai, who received the rice, sold it to merchants in that city and remitted the proceeds by official carriers. But from the middle of the 17th century these stores were placed in the charge of tradesmen to whom was given the name ofkake-ya(agent). They disposed of the products entrusted to them by a fief and held the money, sending it by monthly instalments to an appointed place, rendering yearly accounts and receiving commission at the rate of from 2 to 4%. They had no special licence, but they were honourably regarded and often distinguished by an official title or an hereditary pension. In fact a kake-ya, of such standing as the Mitsui and the Konoike families, was, in effect, a banker charged with the finances of several fiefs. In Osaka the method of sale was uniform. Tenders were invited, and these having been opened in the presence of all the store officials and kake-ya, the successful tenderers had to deposit bargain-money, paying the remainder within ten days, and thereafter becoming entitled to take delivery of the rice in whole or by instalments within a certain time, no fee being charged for storage. A similar system existed in Yedo, the shōgun’s capital. Out of the custom of deferred delivery developed the establishment of exchanges where advances were made against sale certificates, and purely speculative transactions came into vogue. There followed an experience common enough in the West at one time: public opinion rebelled against these transactions in margins on the ground that they tended to enhance the price of rice. Several of the brokers were arrested and brought to trial; marginal dealings were thenceforth forbidden, and a system of licences was inaugurated in Yedo, the number of licensed dealers7being restricted to 108.The system of organized trading companies had its origin in the 12th century, when, the number of merchants admitted within the confines of Yedo being restricted, it became necessary for those not obtaining that privilege to establish some mode of co-operation, and there resulted the formation of companies with representatives stationed in the feudal capital and share-holding members in the provinces. The Ashikaga shōguns developed this restriction by selling to the highest bidder the exclusive right of engaging in a particular trade, and the Tokugawa administration had recourse to the same practice. But whereas the monopolies instituted by the Ashikaga had for sole object the enrichment of the exchequer, the Tokugawa regarded it chiefly as a means of obtaining worthy representatives in each branch of trade. The first licences were issued in Yedo to keepers of bath-houses in the middle of the 17th century. As the city grew in dimensions these licences increased in value, so that pawnbrokers willingly accepted them in pledge for loans. Subsequently almanack-sellers were obliged to take out licences, and the system was afterwards extended to money-changers.It was to the fishmongers, however, that the advantages of commercial organization first presented themselves vividly. The greatest fish-market in Japan is at Nihon-bashi in Tōkyō (formerly Yedo). It had its origin in the needs of the Tokugawa court. When Iyeyasu (founder of the Tokugawa dynasty) entered Yedo in 1590, his train was followed by some fishermen of Settsu, to whom he granted the privilege of plying their trade in the adjacent seas, on condition that they furnished a supply of their best fish for the use of the garrison. The remainder they offered for sale at Nihon-bashi. Early in the 17th century one Sukegoro of Yamato province (hence called Yamato-ya) went to Yedo and organized the fishmongers into a great gild. Nothing is recorded about this man’s antecedents, though his mercantile genius entitles him to historical notice. He contracted for the sale of all the fish obtained in the neighbouring seas, advanced money to the fishermen on the security of their catch, constructed preserves for keeping the fish alive until they were exposed in the market, and enrolled all the dealers in a confederation which ultimately consisted of 391 wholesale merchants and 246 brokers. The main purpose of Sukegoro’s system was to prevent the consumer from dealing direct with the producer. Thus in return for the pecuniary accommodation granted to fishermen to buy boats and nets they were required to give every fish they caught to the wholesale merchant from whom they had received the advance; and the latter, on his side, had to sell in the open market at prices fixed by the confederation. A somewhat similar system applied to vegetables, though in this case the monopoly was never so close.It will be observed that this federation of fishmongers approximated closely to a trust, as the term is now understood; that is to say, an association of merchants engaged in the same branch of trade and pledged to observe certain rules in the conduct of their business as well as to adhere to fixed rates. The idea was extended to nearly every trade, 10 monster confederations being organized in Yedo and 24 in Osaka. These received official recognition, and contributed a sum to the exchequer under the euphonious name of “benefit money,” amounting to nearly £20,000 annually. They attained a high state of prosperity, the whole of the cities’ supplies passing through their hands.8No member of a confederation was permitted to dispose of his licence except to a near relative, and if anyone not on the roll of a confederation engaged in the same business he became liable to punishment at the hands of the officials. In spite of the limits thus imposed on the transfer of licences, one of these documents commanded from £80 to £6,400, and in the beginning of the 19th century the confederations, or gilds, had increased to 68 in Yedo, comprising 1195 merchants. The gild system extended to maritime enterprise also. In the beginning of the 17th century a merchant of Sakai (near Osaka) established a junk service between Osaka and Yedo, but this kind of business did not attain any considerable development until the close of that century, when 10 gilds of Yedo and 24 of Osaka combined to organize a marine-transport company for the purpose of conveying their own merchandise. Here also the principle of monopoly was strictly observed, no goods being shipped for unaffiliated merchants. This carrying trade rapidly assumed large dimensions. The number of junks entering Yedo rose to over 1500 yearly. They raced from port to port, just as tea-clippers from China to Europe used to race in recent times, and troubles incidental to their rivalry became so serious that it was found necessary to enact stringent rules. Each junk-master had to subscribe a written oath that he would comply strictly with the regulations and observe the sequence of sailing as determined by lot. The junks had to callen routeat Uraga for the purpose of undergoing official examination. The order of their arrival there was duly registered, and the master making the best record throughout the year received a present in money as well as a complimentary garment, and became the shippers’ favourite next season.Operations relating to the currency also were brought under the control of gilds. The business of money-changing seems to have been taken up as a profession from the beginning of the 15th century, but it was then in the hands of pedlars who carried strings of copper cash which they exchanged for gold or silver coins, then in rare circulation, or for parcels of gold dust. From the early part of the 17th century exchanges were opened in Yedo, and in 1718 the men engaged in this business formed a gild after the fashion of the time. Six hundred of these received licences, and no unlicensed person was permitted to purchase the avocation. Four representatives of the chief exchange met daily and fixed the ratio between gold and silver, the figure being then communicated to the various exchanges and to the shōgun’s officials. As for the prices of gold or silver in terms of copper or bank-notes, 24 representatives of the exchanges met every evening, and, in the presence of an official censor, settled the figure for the following day and recorded the amount of transactions during the past 24 hours, full information on these points being at once sent to the city governors and the street elders.The exchanges in their ultimate form approximated very closely to the Occidental idea of banks. They not only bought gold, silver and copper coins, but they also received money on deposit, made loans and issued vouchers which played a very important part in commercial transactions. The voucher seems to have come into existence in Japan in the 14th century. It originated in the Yoshino market of Yamato province, where the hilly nature of the district rendered the carriage of copper money so arduous that rich merchants began to substitute written receipts and engagements which quickly became current. Among these documents there was a “joint voucher” (kumiai-fuda), signed by several persons, any one of whom might be held responsible for its redemption. This had large vogue, but it did not obtain official recognition until 1636, when the third Tokugawa shōgun selected 30 substantial merchants and divided them into 3 gilds, each authorized to issue vouchers, provided that a certain sum was deposited by way of security. Such vouchers were obviously a form of bank-note. Their circulation by the exchange came about in a similar manner. During many years the treasure of the shōgun and of the feudalchiefs was carried to Yedo by pack-horses and coolies of the regular postal service. But the costliness of such a method led to the selection in 1691 of 10 exchange agents who were appointed bankers to the Tokugawa government and were required to furnish money within 30 days of the date of an order drawn on them. These agents went by the name of the “ten-men gild.” Subsequently the firm of Mitsui was added, but it enjoyed the special privilege of being allowed 150 days to collect a specified amount. The gild received moneys on account of the Tokugawa or the feudal chiefs at provincial centres, and then made its own arrangements for cashing the cheques drawn upon it by the shōgun or the daimyō in Yedo. If coin happened to be immediately available, it was employed to cash the cheques; otherwise the vouchers of the gild served instead. It was in Osaka, however, that the functions of the exchanges acquired fullest development. That city has exhibited, in all eras, a remarkable aptitude for trade. Its merchants, as already shown, were not only entrusted with the duty of selling the rice and other products of the surrounding fiefs, but also they became depositories of the proceeds, which they paid out on account of the owners in whatever sums the latter desired. Such an evidence of official confidence greatly strengthened their credit, and they received further encouragement from the second Tokugawa shōgun (1605-1623)and from Ishimaru Sadatsugu, governor of the city in 1661. He fostered wholesale transactions, sought to introduce a large element of credit into commerce by instituting a system of credit sales; took measures to promote the circulation of cheques; inaugurated market sales of gold and silver and appointed ten chiefs of exchange who were empowered to oversee the business of money-exchanging in general. These ten received exemption from municipal taxation and were permitted to wear swords. Under them were 22 exchanges forming a gild, whose members agreed to honour one another’s vouchers and mutually to facilitate business. Gradually they elaborated a regular system of banking, so that, in the middle of the 18th century, they issued various descriptions of paper-orders for fixed sums payable at certain places within fixed periods; deposit notes redeemable on the demand of an indicated person or his order; bills of exchange drawn byAuponBin favour ofC(a common form for use in monthly or annual settlements); promissory notes to be paid at a future time, or cheques payable at sight, for goods purchased; and storage orders engaging to deliver goods on account of which earnest money had been paid. These last, much employed in transactions relating to rice and sugar, were generally valid for a period of 3 years and 3 months, were signed by a confederation of exchanges or merchants on joint responsibility, and guaranteed the delivery of the indicated merchandise independently of all accidents. They passed current as readily as coin, and advances could always be obtained against them from pawnbrokers.All these documents, indicating a well-developed system of credit, were duly protected by law, severe penalties being inflicted for any failure to implement the pledges they embodied. The merchants of Yedo and Osaka, working on the system of trusts here described, gradually acquired great wealth and fell into habits of marked luxury. It is recorded that they did not hesitate to pay £5 for the first bonito of the season and £11 for the first egg-fruit. Naturally the spectacle of such extravagance excited popular discontent. Men began to grumble against the so-called “official merchants” who, under government auspices, monopolized every branch of trade; and this feeling grew almost uncontrollable in 1836, when rice rose to an unprecedented price owing to crop failure. Men loudly ascribed that state of affairs to regrating on the part of the wholesale companies, and murmurs similar to those raised at the close of the 19th century in America against the trust system began to reach the ears of the authorities perpetually. The celebrated Fujita Toko of Mito took up the question. He argued that the monopoly system, since it included Osaka, exposed the Yedo market to all the vicissitudes of the former city, which had then lost much of its old prosperity.Finally, in 1841, the shōgun’s chief minister, Mizuno Echizen-no-Kami, withdrew all trading licences, dissolved the gilds and proclaimed that every person should thenceforth be free to engage in any commerce without let or hindrance. This recklessly drastic measure, vividly illustrating the arbitrariness of feudal officialdom, not only included the commercial gilds, the shipping gilds, the exchange gilds and the land transport gilds, but was also carried to the length of forbidding any company to confine itself to wholesale dealings. The authorities further declared that in times of scarcity wholesale transactions must be abandoned altogether and retail business alone carried on, their purpose being to bring retail and wholesale prices to the same level. The custom of advancing money to fishermen or to producers in the provincial districts was interdicted; even the fuda-sashi might no longer ply their calling, and neither bath-house keepers nor hairdressers were allowed to combine for the purpose of adopting uniform rates of charges. But this ill-judged interference produced evils greater than those it was intended to remedy. The gilds had not really been exacting. Their organization had reduced the cost of distribution, and they had provided facilities of transport which brought produce within quick and cheap reach of central markets.Ten years’ experience showed that a modified form of the old system would conduce to public interests. The gilds were re-established, licence fees, however, being abolished, and no limit set to the number of firms in a gild. Things remained thus until the beginning of the Meiji era (1867), when the gilds shared the cataclysm that overtook all the country’s old institutions.Japanese commercial and industrial life presents another feature which seems to suggest special aptitude for combination. In mercantile or manufacturing families, while the eldest son always succeeded to his father’s business, not only the younger sons but also the apprentices and employees, after they had served faithfully for a number of years, expected to be set up as branch houses under the auspices of the principal family, receiving a place of business, a certain amount of capital and the privilege of using the original house-name. Many an old-established firm thus came to have a plexus of branches all serving to extend its business and strengthen its credit, so that the group held a commanding position in the business world. It will be apparent from the above that commercial transactions on a large scale in pre-Meiji days were practically limited to the two great cities of Yedo and Osaka, the people in the provincial fiefs having no direct association with the gild system, confining themselves, for the most part, to domestic industries on a small scale, and not being allowed to extend their business beyond the boundaries of the fief to which they belonged.
As the bulk of a feudal chief’s income was paid in rice, arrangements had to be made for sending the grain to market and transmitting its proceeds. This was effected originally by establishing in Osaka stores (kura-yashiki), under the charge of samurai, who received the rice, sold it to merchants in that city and remitted the proceeds by official carriers. But from the middle of the 17th century these stores were placed in the charge of tradesmen to whom was given the name ofkake-ya(agent). They disposed of the products entrusted to them by a fief and held the money, sending it by monthly instalments to an appointed place, rendering yearly accounts and receiving commission at the rate of from 2 to 4%. They had no special licence, but they were honourably regarded and often distinguished by an official title or an hereditary pension. In fact a kake-ya, of such standing as the Mitsui and the Konoike families, was, in effect, a banker charged with the finances of several fiefs. In Osaka the method of sale was uniform. Tenders were invited, and these having been opened in the presence of all the store officials and kake-ya, the successful tenderers had to deposit bargain-money, paying the remainder within ten days, and thereafter becoming entitled to take delivery of the rice in whole or by instalments within a certain time, no fee being charged for storage. A similar system existed in Yedo, the shōgun’s capital. Out of the custom of deferred delivery developed the establishment of exchanges where advances were made against sale certificates, and purely speculative transactions came into vogue. There followed an experience common enough in the West at one time: public opinion rebelled against these transactions in margins on the ground that they tended to enhance the price of rice. Several of the brokers were arrested and brought to trial; marginal dealings were thenceforth forbidden, and a system of licences was inaugurated in Yedo, the number of licensed dealers7being restricted to 108.
The system of organized trading companies had its origin in the 12th century, when, the number of merchants admitted within the confines of Yedo being restricted, it became necessary for those not obtaining that privilege to establish some mode of co-operation, and there resulted the formation of companies with representatives stationed in the feudal capital and share-holding members in the provinces. The Ashikaga shōguns developed this restriction by selling to the highest bidder the exclusive right of engaging in a particular trade, and the Tokugawa administration had recourse to the same practice. But whereas the monopolies instituted by the Ashikaga had for sole object the enrichment of the exchequer, the Tokugawa regarded it chiefly as a means of obtaining worthy representatives in each branch of trade. The first licences were issued in Yedo to keepers of bath-houses in the middle of the 17th century. As the city grew in dimensions these licences increased in value, so that pawnbrokers willingly accepted them in pledge for loans. Subsequently almanack-sellers were obliged to take out licences, and the system was afterwards extended to money-changers.
It was to the fishmongers, however, that the advantages of commercial organization first presented themselves vividly. The greatest fish-market in Japan is at Nihon-bashi in Tōkyō (formerly Yedo). It had its origin in the needs of the Tokugawa court. When Iyeyasu (founder of the Tokugawa dynasty) entered Yedo in 1590, his train was followed by some fishermen of Settsu, to whom he granted the privilege of plying their trade in the adjacent seas, on condition that they furnished a supply of their best fish for the use of the garrison. The remainder they offered for sale at Nihon-bashi. Early in the 17th century one Sukegoro of Yamato province (hence called Yamato-ya) went to Yedo and organized the fishmongers into a great gild. Nothing is recorded about this man’s antecedents, though his mercantile genius entitles him to historical notice. He contracted for the sale of all the fish obtained in the neighbouring seas, advanced money to the fishermen on the security of their catch, constructed preserves for keeping the fish alive until they were exposed in the market, and enrolled all the dealers in a confederation which ultimately consisted of 391 wholesale merchants and 246 brokers. The main purpose of Sukegoro’s system was to prevent the consumer from dealing direct with the producer. Thus in return for the pecuniary accommodation granted to fishermen to buy boats and nets they were required to give every fish they caught to the wholesale merchant from whom they had received the advance; and the latter, on his side, had to sell in the open market at prices fixed by the confederation. A somewhat similar system applied to vegetables, though in this case the monopoly was never so close.
It will be observed that this federation of fishmongers approximated closely to a trust, as the term is now understood; that is to say, an association of merchants engaged in the same branch of trade and pledged to observe certain rules in the conduct of their business as well as to adhere to fixed rates. The idea was extended to nearly every trade, 10 monster confederations being organized in Yedo and 24 in Osaka. These received official recognition, and contributed a sum to the exchequer under the euphonious name of “benefit money,” amounting to nearly £20,000 annually. They attained a high state of prosperity, the whole of the cities’ supplies passing through their hands.8No member of a confederation was permitted to dispose of his licence except to a near relative, and if anyone not on the roll of a confederation engaged in the same business he became liable to punishment at the hands of the officials. In spite of the limits thus imposed on the transfer of licences, one of these documents commanded from £80 to £6,400, and in the beginning of the 19th century the confederations, or gilds, had increased to 68 in Yedo, comprising 1195 merchants. The gild system extended to maritime enterprise also. In the beginning of the 17th century a merchant of Sakai (near Osaka) established a junk service between Osaka and Yedo, but this kind of business did not attain any considerable development until the close of that century, when 10 gilds of Yedo and 24 of Osaka combined to organize a marine-transport company for the purpose of conveying their own merchandise. Here also the principle of monopoly was strictly observed, no goods being shipped for unaffiliated merchants. This carrying trade rapidly assumed large dimensions. The number of junks entering Yedo rose to over 1500 yearly. They raced from port to port, just as tea-clippers from China to Europe used to race in recent times, and troubles incidental to their rivalry became so serious that it was found necessary to enact stringent rules. Each junk-master had to subscribe a written oath that he would comply strictly with the regulations and observe the sequence of sailing as determined by lot. The junks had to callen routeat Uraga for the purpose of undergoing official examination. The order of their arrival there was duly registered, and the master making the best record throughout the year received a present in money as well as a complimentary garment, and became the shippers’ favourite next season.
Operations relating to the currency also were brought under the control of gilds. The business of money-changing seems to have been taken up as a profession from the beginning of the 15th century, but it was then in the hands of pedlars who carried strings of copper cash which they exchanged for gold or silver coins, then in rare circulation, or for parcels of gold dust. From the early part of the 17th century exchanges were opened in Yedo, and in 1718 the men engaged in this business formed a gild after the fashion of the time. Six hundred of these received licences, and no unlicensed person was permitted to purchase the avocation. Four representatives of the chief exchange met daily and fixed the ratio between gold and silver, the figure being then communicated to the various exchanges and to the shōgun’s officials. As for the prices of gold or silver in terms of copper or bank-notes, 24 representatives of the exchanges met every evening, and, in the presence of an official censor, settled the figure for the following day and recorded the amount of transactions during the past 24 hours, full information on these points being at once sent to the city governors and the street elders.
The exchanges in their ultimate form approximated very closely to the Occidental idea of banks. They not only bought gold, silver and copper coins, but they also received money on deposit, made loans and issued vouchers which played a very important part in commercial transactions. The voucher seems to have come into existence in Japan in the 14th century. It originated in the Yoshino market of Yamato province, where the hilly nature of the district rendered the carriage of copper money so arduous that rich merchants began to substitute written receipts and engagements which quickly became current. Among these documents there was a “joint voucher” (kumiai-fuda), signed by several persons, any one of whom might be held responsible for its redemption. This had large vogue, but it did not obtain official recognition until 1636, when the third Tokugawa shōgun selected 30 substantial merchants and divided them into 3 gilds, each authorized to issue vouchers, provided that a certain sum was deposited by way of security. Such vouchers were obviously a form of bank-note. Their circulation by the exchange came about in a similar manner. During many years the treasure of the shōgun and of the feudalchiefs was carried to Yedo by pack-horses and coolies of the regular postal service. But the costliness of such a method led to the selection in 1691 of 10 exchange agents who were appointed bankers to the Tokugawa government and were required to furnish money within 30 days of the date of an order drawn on them. These agents went by the name of the “ten-men gild.” Subsequently the firm of Mitsui was added, but it enjoyed the special privilege of being allowed 150 days to collect a specified amount. The gild received moneys on account of the Tokugawa or the feudal chiefs at provincial centres, and then made its own arrangements for cashing the cheques drawn upon it by the shōgun or the daimyō in Yedo. If coin happened to be immediately available, it was employed to cash the cheques; otherwise the vouchers of the gild served instead. It was in Osaka, however, that the functions of the exchanges acquired fullest development. That city has exhibited, in all eras, a remarkable aptitude for trade. Its merchants, as already shown, were not only entrusted with the duty of selling the rice and other products of the surrounding fiefs, but also they became depositories of the proceeds, which they paid out on account of the owners in whatever sums the latter desired. Such an evidence of official confidence greatly strengthened their credit, and they received further encouragement from the second Tokugawa shōgun (1605-1623)and from Ishimaru Sadatsugu, governor of the city in 1661. He fostered wholesale transactions, sought to introduce a large element of credit into commerce by instituting a system of credit sales; took measures to promote the circulation of cheques; inaugurated market sales of gold and silver and appointed ten chiefs of exchange who were empowered to oversee the business of money-exchanging in general. These ten received exemption from municipal taxation and were permitted to wear swords. Under them were 22 exchanges forming a gild, whose members agreed to honour one another’s vouchers and mutually to facilitate business. Gradually they elaborated a regular system of banking, so that, in the middle of the 18th century, they issued various descriptions of paper-orders for fixed sums payable at certain places within fixed periods; deposit notes redeemable on the demand of an indicated person or his order; bills of exchange drawn byAuponBin favour ofC(a common form for use in monthly or annual settlements); promissory notes to be paid at a future time, or cheques payable at sight, for goods purchased; and storage orders engaging to deliver goods on account of which earnest money had been paid. These last, much employed in transactions relating to rice and sugar, were generally valid for a period of 3 years and 3 months, were signed by a confederation of exchanges or merchants on joint responsibility, and guaranteed the delivery of the indicated merchandise independently of all accidents. They passed current as readily as coin, and advances could always be obtained against them from pawnbrokers.
All these documents, indicating a well-developed system of credit, were duly protected by law, severe penalties being inflicted for any failure to implement the pledges they embodied. The merchants of Yedo and Osaka, working on the system of trusts here described, gradually acquired great wealth and fell into habits of marked luxury. It is recorded that they did not hesitate to pay £5 for the first bonito of the season and £11 for the first egg-fruit. Naturally the spectacle of such extravagance excited popular discontent. Men began to grumble against the so-called “official merchants” who, under government auspices, monopolized every branch of trade; and this feeling grew almost uncontrollable in 1836, when rice rose to an unprecedented price owing to crop failure. Men loudly ascribed that state of affairs to regrating on the part of the wholesale companies, and murmurs similar to those raised at the close of the 19th century in America against the trust system began to reach the ears of the authorities perpetually. The celebrated Fujita Toko of Mito took up the question. He argued that the monopoly system, since it included Osaka, exposed the Yedo market to all the vicissitudes of the former city, which had then lost much of its old prosperity.
Finally, in 1841, the shōgun’s chief minister, Mizuno Echizen-no-Kami, withdrew all trading licences, dissolved the gilds and proclaimed that every person should thenceforth be free to engage in any commerce without let or hindrance. This recklessly drastic measure, vividly illustrating the arbitrariness of feudal officialdom, not only included the commercial gilds, the shipping gilds, the exchange gilds and the land transport gilds, but was also carried to the length of forbidding any company to confine itself to wholesale dealings. The authorities further declared that in times of scarcity wholesale transactions must be abandoned altogether and retail business alone carried on, their purpose being to bring retail and wholesale prices to the same level. The custom of advancing money to fishermen or to producers in the provincial districts was interdicted; even the fuda-sashi might no longer ply their calling, and neither bath-house keepers nor hairdressers were allowed to combine for the purpose of adopting uniform rates of charges. But this ill-judged interference produced evils greater than those it was intended to remedy. The gilds had not really been exacting. Their organization had reduced the cost of distribution, and they had provided facilities of transport which brought produce within quick and cheap reach of central markets.
Ten years’ experience showed that a modified form of the old system would conduce to public interests. The gilds were re-established, licence fees, however, being abolished, and no limit set to the number of firms in a gild. Things remained thus until the beginning of the Meiji era (1867), when the gilds shared the cataclysm that overtook all the country’s old institutions.
Japanese commercial and industrial life presents another feature which seems to suggest special aptitude for combination. In mercantile or manufacturing families, while the eldest son always succeeded to his father’s business, not only the younger sons but also the apprentices and employees, after they had served faithfully for a number of years, expected to be set up as branch houses under the auspices of the principal family, receiving a place of business, a certain amount of capital and the privilege of using the original house-name. Many an old-established firm thus came to have a plexus of branches all serving to extend its business and strengthen its credit, so that the group held a commanding position in the business world. It will be apparent from the above that commercial transactions on a large scale in pre-Meiji days were practically limited to the two great cities of Yedo and Osaka, the people in the provincial fiefs having no direct association with the gild system, confining themselves, for the most part, to domestic industries on a small scale, and not being allowed to extend their business beyond the boundaries of the fief to which they belonged.
Foreign Commerce during the Meiji Era.—If Japan’s industrial development in modern times has been remarkable, the same may be said even more emphatically about the development of her over-sea commerce. This was checked at first not only by the unpopularity attaching to all intercourse with outside nations, but also by embarrassments resulting from the difference between the silver price of gold in Japan and its silver price in Europe, the precious metals being connected in Japan by a ratio of 1 to 8, and in Europe by a ratio of 1 to 15. This latter fact was the cause of a sudden and violent appreciation of values; for the government, seeing the country threatened with loss of all its gold, tried to avert the catastrophe by altering and reducing the weights of the silver coins without altering their denominations, and a corresponding difference exhibited itself, as a matter of course, in the silver quotations of commodities. Another difficulty was the attitude of officialdom. During several centuries Japan’s over-sea trade had been under the control of officialdom, to whose coffers it contributed a substantial revenue. But when the foreign exporter entered the field under the conditions created by the new system, he diverted to his own pocket the handsome profit previously accruing to the government; and since the latter could not easily become reconciled to this loss of revenue, or wean itself from its traditional habit of interference in affairs of foreign commerce, and since the foreigner, on his side, not only desired secrecy in order to prevent competition, but was also tormented by inveterate suspicions of Oriental espionage, not a little friction occurred from time to time. Thus the scanty records of that early epoch suggest that trade was beset with great difficulties, and that the foreigner had to contend against most adverse circumstances, though in truth his gains amounted to 40 or 50%.
The chief staples of the early trade were tea and silk. It happened that just before Japan’s raw silk became available for export, the production of that article in France and Tea and Italy had been largely curtailed owing to a novelTea and Silk.disease of the silkworm. Thus, when the first bales of Japanese silk appeared in London, and when it was found to possess qualities entitling it to the highest rank, a keen demand sprang up. Japanese green tea also, differing radically in flavour and bouquet from the black tea of China, appealed quickly to American taste, so that by the year 1907 Japan found herself selling to foreign countries tea to the extent of 1¼ millions sterling, and raw silk to the extent of 12¼ millions. This remarkable development is typical of the general history of Japan’s foreign trade in modern times. Omitting the first decade and a half, the statistics for which are imperfect, the volume of the trade grew from 5 millions sterling in 1873—3 shillings per head of the population—to 93 millions in 1907—or 38 shillings per head. It was not a uniform growth. The period of 35 years divides itself conspicuously into two eras: the first, of 15 years (1873-1887), during which the development was from 5 millions to 9.7 millions, a ratio of 1 to 2, approximately; the second, of 20 years (1887-1907), during which the development was from 9.7 millions to 93 millions, a ratio of 1 to 10.
That a commerce which scarcely doubled itself in the first fifteen years should have grown nearly tenfold in the next twenty is a fact inviting attention. There are two principal causes: one general, the other special. The general cause was that several years necessarily elapsed before the nation’s material condition began to respond perceptibly to the improvements effected by the Meiji government in matters of administration, taxation and transport facilities. Fiscal burdens had been reduced and security of life and property obtained, but railway building and road-making, harbour construction, the growth of posts, telegraphs, exchanges and banks, and the development of a mercantile marine did not exercise a sensible influence on the nation’s prosperity until 1884 or 1885. From that time the country entered a period of steadily growing prosperity, and from that time private enterprise may be said to have finally started upon a career of independent activity. The special cause which, from 1885, contributed to a marked growth of trade was the resumption of specie payments. Up to that time the treasury’s fiat notes had suffered such marked fluctuations of specie value that sound or successful commerce became very difficult. Against the importing merchant the currency trouble worked with double potency. Not only did the gold with which he purchased goods appreciate constantly in terms of the silver for which he sold them, but the silver itself appreciated sharply and rapidly in terms of the fiat notes paid by Japanese consumers. Cursory reflection may suggest that these factors should have stimulated exports as much as they depressed imports. But such was not altogether the case in practice. For the exporter’s transactions were hampered by the possibility that a delay of a week or even a day might increase the purchasing power of his silver in Japanese markets by bringing about a further depreciation of paper, so that he worked timidly and hesitatingly, dividing his operations as minutely as possible in order to take advantage of the downward tendency of the fiat notes. Not till this element of pernicious disturbance was removed did the trade recover a healthy tone and grow so lustily as to tread closely on the heels of the foreign commerce of China, with her 300 million inhabitants and long-established international relations.
Japan’s trade with the outer world was built up chiefly by the energy and enterprise of the foreign middleman. He acted the part of an almost ideal agent. As an exporter, his command of cheap capital, his experience, hisThe Foreign Middleman.knowledge of foreign markets, and his connexions enabled him to secure sales such as must have been beyond reach of the Japanese working independently. Moreover, he paid to native consumers ready cash for their staples, taking upon his own shoulders all the risks of finding markets abroad. As an importer, he enjoyed, in centres of supply, credit which the Japanese lacked, and he offered to native consumers foreign produce brought to their doors with a minimum of responsibility on their part. Finally, whether as exporters or importers, foreign middlemen always competed with each other so keenly that their Japanese clients obtained the best possible terms from them. Yet the ambition of the Japanese to oust them cannot be regarded as unnatural. Every nation must desire to carry on its own commerce independently of alien assistance; and moreover, the foreign middleman’s residence during many years within Japanese territory, but without the pale of Japanese sovereignty, invested him with an aggressive character which the anti-Oriental exclusiveness of certain Occidental nations helped to accentuate. Thus from the point of view of the average Japanese there are several reasons for wishing to dispense with alien middlemen, and it is plain that these reasons are operative; for whereas, in 1888, native merchants carried on only 12% of the country’s over-sea trade without the intervention of the foreign middlemen, their share rose to 35% in 1899 and has since been slowly increasing.