A Study On Early-modern Chinese Merchants In Japan

The history of early-modern Chinese merchant communities in Japan can be traced back to the Tojin Trade emerged in the early 17^thcentury.As marine trade in Eastern Eurasia region became unprecedentedly active,a substantial number of Chinese Merchants crowded into Japan for business,pushing the Tojin community in Nagasaki to develop into a prototype form of early-modern Chinese merchant communities in Japan.In 1858,the 5^thYear of the Ansei Era,the Ansei Five-Power Treaties were signed,which marked the end of the Closed Country Policy that had lasted for 223 years.Thus,Japan's foreign trade,which had been hindered by previous restraint policies,entered a new stage with obvious free-trade characteristics and recovered rapidly afterwards.In those ports like Yokohama,Kobe,Osaka,Hakodate and Nagasaki that were open to foreign merchants,not only the western merchants who were newly authorized by the treaties but also a large quantity of Chinese mainly from Guangdong,Fujian,Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces ran the commercial business.While most of those Chinese went to Japan as compradors employed by western trading firms,they played important roles in Japan's foreign trade and soon became arch-rivals of their western counterparts.The population of Chinese merchants in Japan's open ports experienced even faster growth after the ratification of the Sino-Japanese Friendship and Trade Treaty?1871?,becoming the largest foreign merchant community in Japan.Chinese merchants excluded westerners from Sino-Japanese trade and occupied an overwhelming market share in it through the business networks and commercial groups they established based on kinship,geological or occupational fellowships.The impact brought by Chinese merchants were too strong,resulting in the fact that worrying trend of thoughts were aroused among the Meiji Government and local merchants.Subsequently when the government and local merchants launched a campaign to restore trading rights combinedly,Chinese merchants had significant influence on Japan's foreign trade were first to bear the brunt.While the Chinese managed to brace and compete at the beginning during the vigorous movement with their traditionally established commercial networks and organizations,their influence suffered from rapid declination at the eve of the 20^thcentury to various factors.