| In 1613,John Saris,the British trade envoy,arrived in Japan,and the two countries began trading with each other through exchanges of state credentials and related trade regulations.By 1623,the Hirado British Commercial Office was closed,and the trade relations between the two countries were severed.Domestic scholars pay scant attention to the history of the early exchanges between Japan and Britain.Although foreign scholars have opened up a discussion on it to some extent,it is not an indepth one.However,we should realize that an examination of the Japanese-British trade issues during this period will not only help to understand the overall context of the development history of relations between the two countries,but also provide considerable help to interpret the development of Japanese-British overseas trade and the interaction between East and West at the beginning of 17 th century.In view of this,except for the introduction part,this paper intends to carry out a study on the early trade between Japan and Britain from the following five main aspects.Chapter one.is about the backgrounds of the early trade between Japan and Britain.The early trade between Japan and Britain was not carried out overnight but had a particular historical background.As far as Japan is concerned,in the early Edo era,Tokugawa Leyasu actively set up an overseas trading system,which provided a good environment for trade contacts between the two countries.As for Britain,in the early period of the Stuart Dynasty,Britain vigorously pursued the strategy of overseas trade expansion,which provided policy guidance for opening up the Japanese market in the future,and also provided material guarantee for the development of trade between the two countries.In addition,as the first Briton visting Japan,William Adams had made an important contribution to the establishment of trade relations between the two countries.Therefore,due to the joint action of the above factors,the business between the two countries can be conducted smoothly.Chapter two focuses on the establishment of the early British-Japanese trade relationships.This chapter firstly differentiates and analyzes two kinds of Japanese historical materials which can enable people to misunderstand the building of business relationships.In light of these factors,thorough investigation is conducted regarding the voyage to Japan made by the British envoy John Saris and the establishment of trade relationships between Japan and Britain.In April 1611,as directed by the East India Company in London,Saris embarked on the eighth voyage to the East Indian region.The board of directors made it clear in the shipping instructions that he should go to Japan to establish trade relationship.It should be noted,however,that although this voyage has established the specific objective of trade with Japan,its primary task is to conduct trade in the western Indian port of Surat or in the port of Muha on the Red Sea coast.But in any case,Britain took specific actions to develop trade with Japan,and the trade resistance encountered by the fleet in the above two places during the voyage had further prompted Saris to sail to Japan.In June 1613,Saris and his entourage arrived at Hirado Port and immediately entered into trade negotiations.In September,Saris and others paid a visit to Tokugawa Leyasu at Sumpu,submitting the national credentials and a petition for trade.In response to the two documents,Tokugawa Leyasu ordered his subordinates to write an reply letter sealed with red stamp to endorse the dealings between merchant ships from both countries;therefore,the trade relationship between Japan and Britain had been formally set up.Besdies,what is noteworthy is that the translation of paperwork between two countries by William Adams is pivotal during the process of establishing business relationships between Japan and Britain.Adams did not simply convert two types of ideographs in a corresponding manner,but made specific translation according to the superior status of the governors from both countries,and detailed commercial requirements set down by the trade bodies,as well as the writing styles and document phraseology between two entirely distinct languages.This kind of translation manner has successfully avoided possible disputes that may arise during trade negotiations,and greatly facilitates the process of setting up business relationships between the two countries.Chapter three pertains to early business transactions between Japan and Britain.We will focus on the development of trade between the two countries,including the establishment of British trade agencies in Japan,the main bodies of trade between the two countries,the mode of trade development and the structure of commodities.British business institutions in Japan mainly consisted of the business office in Hirado,Edo,and Osaka branches,as well as agencies all over Japan.The establishment of these three types of institutions was not carried out at the same time,but reflected the gradual adjustments based on changes in trade demand.After the establishment of the three sectors,the organizational form tends to be complete,thus ensuring the effective operation of trade for a certain period of time.In terms of the main bodies of trade,the East India Company of London businessmen played the role of the main body of British trade.In contrast,shogun,daimyo,merchants,ordinary samurai constituted the main body of Japanese trade.The main bodies of the two countries played an irreplaceable role in their business activities,which is an important guarantee for the smooth development of commodity transactions.In addition,in the early trading history of Japan and Britain,there were four different periods related to the trade mode of transporting British goods to Japan.The change of trend within each period is obvious,which reflects the stage characteristic of trade method development.Taking a panoramic view of the ways of how Japanese conducted the trade of merchandise,we can see that the situation of small trading volumes did not change drastically despite variations in different periods.In addition,through the investigation of the main trade commodity structure of the two countries,it can be seen that British exports to Japan include woolen goods,lead,steel and other military supplies from their own country as well as resold overseas commdities like silk fabrics,cotton,leather,dyes and spices.Japan’s exports to Britain include wood,lime and nails for use in the Hirado Commercial Office,as well as the precious metal and food needed by the British trading stations in Southeast Asia.The establishment of this structure is mainly determined by the trade needs of two countries,which basically reflects the trade relations between Japan and Britain.Chapter four relates to pertinent political and economic issues in the early British-Japanese trade.In the course of carrying out trade with Japan,Britain was constantly subjected to trade competition and interferences from the Catholic countries represented by Portugal and Spain.Therefore,in order to foster gradual development of trade with Japan and further improve Britain’s economic status in Asia,the British East India Company and the Dutch East India Company created a "defensive alliance" aiming at jointly cracking down on the forces of the Catholic countries.Taking the "Hirayama Jyōchi Jiken" as an opportunity,Britain and the Netherlands used the shogunate’s policy of banning Catholicism to gradually push the Catholic countries out of the Japanese market.In this process,the Dutch commercial power rose rapidly,and gradually replaced the status of the Catholic countries.Britain not only failed to seize the opportunity to expand trade with Japan,but also had to make the decision to withdraw from Japanese market for various reasons.In addition,in order to increase Japanese-British trade,the Hirado British Merchants Office had also made great efforts to open up the supply markets in China,Korea and Ryukyu,while making purchases in Britain through the British Southeast Asian Trade Station.But the pioneering initiatives in these areas were not so satisfactory that the British had to suffer from a lack of supply of high-value goods.Chapter five talks about the discontinuance of trade relations between Japan and Britain in early times and the reasons.In December 1623,in accordance with the instructions of the East India Company in Badavia,the Hirado British Business Office was closed,and the business director Cocks and his staff left Japan,which marked the end of early Japanese and British trade.Since then,although the company continued to try to restore trade with Japan,and in 1671 the British side even successfully dispatched a fleet,but ultimately failed to return to the Japanese market.The writer holds that the reasons for the severing of trade relations between the two countries can be attributed to five main aspects.The difficulties faced by the United Kingdom in the process of carrying out trade are the poor management of the Hirado Merchants House,the considerable cost of trade between the United Kingdom and Japan,and their still limited trade power in Asia.Tokugawa Hidetada’s strict trade restrictions on Britain is the resistance from Japan,and the fierce trade competitions in the Japanese market was the result of the international trade environment in East Asia at that time.As a result,the British were forced to leave Japan as a result of these factors.The last part of the paper aims to summarize all the characteristics of the early Japan-British trade and analyze the influences of the early Japanese-British trade on the strategic changes of overseas trade and foreign contacts between Japan and Britain in the early 17 th century,as well as the effects on the process of social and historical development in East Asia. |
