Vol. 76, No. 4

Gakusho NAKAJIMA
Transformation and reorganization of the international trade order in East Asia from the 14th to 16th century: from the tributary system to the “1570 system”

In this paper, I investigate the process of the transformation and reorganization of the international trade order of maritime and inland East Asia by surveying the changes in the tributary trade system from the late 14th to the late 16th century.

A unified foreign trade and tributary system reached its peak both in maritime and inland Asia in the early 15th century. But from the mid-15th century, the tributary trade system gradually slackened with the development of “mutual trade” and smuggling along the maritime and inland peripheries of the Ming. Up to the mid-16th century, the tributary trade system almost collapsed because of the spread of the smuggling and raids by the Mongols and wokou pirates.

Around 1570, the Ming court was obliged to permit mutual and tributary trade with the Mongols and trade with Southeast Asia, and in the same period, Europeans opened up new trading routes through which voluminous foreign silver flowed into China. As a result, the international trade order of East Asia was reorganized into what became known as the “1570 system”, in which various trade routes coexisted and interacted.

Kazuo MIDORIKAWA
Measures of volume and the use of de facto measure standards in western Japan during the medieval period

This paper continues on the examination of measures of volume in the Kinai area (see volume 75, no. 6) and traces the establishment of de facto measure standards in western Japan during the medieval period. The understanding of the measurement of volume is essential in assessing agricultural yield potential, land system, and trading conditions, and yet its importance is not fully appreciated. By studying de facto measure standards, we are able to better comprehend the process of unification of the national economy.

In the 15th century, in the western part of western Japan a measure called sanukito was the standard, while in the eastern part urimasu was used in the trade, in parallel with kinaihonto (the Kinai standard). Kinaihonto was almost the same in volume as sanukito, and thus there was potentially a de facto measure standard in western Japan and the Kinai area.

In the 16th century, the use of urimasu spread and became standard in its surrounding areas. But by the end of the century, kinaihonto and sanukito revived to the point that either of these two measures was used universally throughout the whole of western Japan and the Kinai. It was the unification of the national economy, brought about by political unification, that determined the standardization of measures.

Asuka YAMAGUCHI
The Japanese Government Railways (JGR) and timber procurement in the prewar period

In the Japanese industrialization process, procurement of stable supplies of timber was essential for industries because of its vital role as a raw material, as a source of energy, and for use in construction. The purpose of this article is therefore to examine the issue of timber procurement through a case study of the supply of timber for use as rail sleepers by the Japanese Government Railways (JGR) during the prewar period.

JGR’s need for wooden sleepers increased as its network expanded, and in 1909 it switched from competitive tendering to sole-source contracts in order to secure stable supplies at prices within its annual budget. In 1930, at a time of budget restrictions, JGR changed its policy to invite tendering in order to secure low prices, but in 1933 economic conditions improved and it returned to sole-source contracts. Thus JGR adapted its supply procurement practices to meet changes in both budget and timber market. However, despite efforts to utilize a wider range of trees and preservative treatment of wood, it experienced increasing difficulty in finding supplies from the late 1930s onward.

Hiroshi SHOJI
The flour milling industry in northern China during the Republican period: a case study of Jinan city, Shandong province

This article is a case study of the flour milling industry in Jinan city, which is the provincial capital of Shandong province and is located at a railway junction. During the Republican period, milling companies equipped with western-style mechanized milling technology were established in Jinan. By the 1920s, Jinan had become an area where the milling companies had clustered, as in Shanghai and northeastern China. The milling company shareholders were government bureaucrats or wealthy grain traders from Shandong. Among them, the Miao family, which managed Chengfeng Milling Co., accumulated capital and technology. They established a cotton-spinning company in the 1930s, thus becoming the predominant entrepreneur in Jinan.

The milling industry in Jinan was strongly connected to Shandong’s rural economy for its source of wheat. Jinan and cities along the railway were similarly connected to the industry as flour markets, as were other cities that did trade in commercial crops of rural Shandong. This contrasts with the industry in Shanghai, which was located in a coastal area. In conclusion, the milling industry in Jinan, which was located in a wheat production area, became a model for the Chinese milling industry.

Shunsuke NAKAOKA
Adoption, inheritance, and modern Japanese family businesses: the case of the wealthy economic elite

The inheritance of family businesses or merchant houses by adopted sons, which was among the traditions and peculiarities of modern Japan, has long been out of scope of research in business history. This article focuses on this particular characteristic, which may be connected to the longevity and survival of Japanese family businesses in modern times. Official government documents on the granting of orders and medals of honour, which provided detailed personal information, along with other published materials are used to explain the background to the process of selecting adopted sons.

Note that integrating into an adoptive family network, for instance, via marriage to an adoptive father’s daughter or intimate relations with other members of the adoptive family, played a crucial role for adopted sons to inherit the family business. Further, social networks comprising the adoptive and original families occasionally functioned as a source of capital or human resources contributing to the development of modern Japanese family businesses. As such, the system of adoption presumably provided managerial flexibility to family businesses.