nakano family documents[1]. satsuma-choshu trade, 1856-66

7/28/2019 Nakano Family Documents[1]. Satsuma-Choshu Trade, 1856-66

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Nakano Family Documents. Satsuma-Choshu Trade, 1856-66

Robert G. Flershem; Yoshiko N. Flershem

Monumenta Nipponica, Vol. 26, No. 1/2. (1971), pp. 1-15.

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Nakano Familv DocumentsJS A T S U M A - C H ~ S H ~TRADE, 1856-66

b y R O B E R TG . F L E R S H E M n d Y O S H I K ON. F L E R S H E M

TRADE, encouraged or carried on by the two ban governm ents, was a significantaspect of Satsuma-Chbshii relations dur ing th e last t en years of the Tokug awaperiod. I t may have become an impo rtan t factor in th e formation of th e Satchballiance in 1866.l Considerable information about this activity can be gleaned fromdocuments found near Shimonoseki in t he summer of 19 67 .~ h ese papers were amongthe records of Nakano Hanzaemon, an official of Tonoshiki M ~ r a , ~oyoura Gun,Maebtsu Saiban (administrative district) of Chbshii han.4

T h e Nakanos, who were peasants durin g the Tokugaw a period, moved to T onoshikiearly in the seventeenth century. Heads of the family usually became shya (villageheadmen) and at times had the rank of @ya (village gro up chief).5In th e 1830s and 1840sthe family head was involved both officially and privately in shipping on the riverwhich links Tonoshiki and the Inland Sea. Starting in 1845 he often had official re-sponsibilities pertaining to whaling.6 In 1856 he was put in charge of promoting histerritory's exports. By 1860 he had outstripped the Shimonoseki merchant, Shiraishi

@THEAUTHORS are living in the Hok uriku area. ber 1968), pp. 100-1.Th ey found the Nakano documents while carry- Tonoshiki is now in Toyota Machi and ising out a project which was made possible by a about two hours by bus from Shimonoseki. Ingrant from the American Philosophical Society. the 1840s Tonoshiki had about zoo families.Mr Flershem is teaching English at Fukui Dai- About 30% of the heads of households weregaku and other Hokuriku universities. tradesmen, about 60% were farmers, and aboutTanaka Akira m+ $3, 'Bakumatsu Satchij 4% were artisans. See Yamaguchi Ken Monjo-k6eki no kenkyii' %%I% 2 i% 6'3%, Shigaku kan IL D % K f E (ed.), BichC fCdo chishin anzasshi 9-trb% 22, LMX, no. 4 (20 April 1960), P3ARI. kt _i%, Yamaguchi Prefectural Library,pp. 29-51. (Th is article shall hereafter be referred Yamaguchi, 1962, MX, pp. 407-46.to as 'Bakum atsu Satchij',.) 4 + 4 +&% 7 B 7 , H$,k$$, P l EZ i r , $tAiQqY'~l,2 R.G. Flershem, 'Nakano Family Docum ents : 5 211 ;%Satsuma-~ht ishi iTrade', The Library Chronicle, El , R EFriends of th e University of Pennsylvania Libra- 6 Tomshiki mura Nakano ke konzonjo B2 d$ +ry, xxxv, nos. I and z (1969), pp. 64-5; a nd 4&$Kg hereafter abbreviated to TMNKK):Flershem, 'Kita mae sen no funaato wo otte' it: Kink5 onegaigaki %?sh@P@ 2 , I 864; and Kakei $$j&ah2%$?S> 7 ,Kaijishikenkyii%S&@fR, A, 162s.Nihon Kaiji Shi Gakkai, Tok yo, No. 11 (Novem-

MN: XXVI, 1-2 A


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Shbichirb? in competition for office, power, and prestige.* Nakano Hanzaemon wassupervisor of Chbshii's trade w ith Satsuma from December 1861 until abou t th e middleof 1864, and dur ing th at tim e he was probably t he mo st impo rtant of th e Chbshii figuresconcerned with this commerce.

The Nakano documents' story of Chbshii's business relations with other regionsstarts late in 1856 when th e Tsuboi-M ukunashi clique, which was dom inant in Chdshiipolitics in 1856-7, att em pt ed to expand export^.^ At that time, the office of Kanndsambutsu gonaiyd kakarilo was established to prom ote rural production for expo rt purposes.Forty -five of these officials were appointed-two or three for each saiban. Nakano Han-zaemon was amon g the new appointees in M aebtsu Saiban. Each gonaiyd kakari was SUP-posed to emphasize prod ucts w hich were suitable in his own area, so there was probablyconsiderable variety.

Hanzaemon supervised import of wax-tree seedlings from the Fukuoka area andproduction of benibana (safflowers) for red dye . In discussion with superiors he maintain edthat, if each of ChbshB's approximately 100,ooo peasant families produced benibana inspare time with ou t interfering wi th o ther agricultural production, there would be a largeprofit for th e ban. H e said tha t C hbshii should follow th e example of Akita, N ara, Waka-yama, Higo, an d Satsurna by exporting benibana to th e Kansai. H e also made th e qu aintplea on behalf of benibana th at i t was as beautiful as kiku.11 In a letter to an other gonaljakakari he spok e of his plans for whaling and for replanting th e impo rted seedlings; and herequested a loan from th e ban to prom ote paper production in Tonoshiki.12 In th e sameyear th ere was abortive talk of imp orting aidama13(indigo-balls) from Satsuma.14

Umeda Umpin,l5 a scholar of Chinese Learning and a Loyalist,l6 who had been anObama ban samurai, came to Chbshii late in 1856 to rouse interest in trade b etweenChbshii and th e Kyoto-Osaka area.17 Am ong others, he talked to th e daimyo, T subo i

7 BGiE-EF l 1 $LZ, %8 Shimonoseki Shi Shi Henshti Iinkai T M 5 l2TMNKK: Kanni sambutsu Edokata gol~diy;

f t l . f i$G Fi8 (ed.), Shimonoseki shi shi 7;M 55 , sho kiroku Zi@&FB U t ~ @ k , 856.,$$&~@I~I#(2 volumes), Shimonoseki City Government, Hanzaemon estimated that the profit from saleShimonoseki, 1964,11, p. 166. Both Nakano Han- of 768 kamme f d ofhanshi qX.8 (writi ng paper)zaemon and Shiraishi Sh6ichir6 had loyalist con- produced in Tonoshiki during a four-monthnections. In their accounts of th e even ts which period would be almost 5 kan.preceded the Meiji Restoration, M. B. Jansen 13 83and A. M . Craig mention Shiraishi but not Naka- l 4 TMNKK: Sasshg torikumi kiroku E J.l.1ri34RbE no Hanzaemon. See M . B. Jansen , Sakamoto Ryi- @k, I, 1858. ma and the Me@ Restoration, Princeton, 1961, pp. 15 & a % % 119 (footnote), 161, 217, 265, 371 and 413; and l 6 Jansen, op. cit. p. 71.A. M . Craig, ChishZ in the Meiji Restoration, l 7 Umeda's travel to Ch6shti appa rentlyHarvard University Press, Cambridge, 1967, grew out of discussion in Kyoto wi th Miyake J6-Glossary, p. xix. tar6 3%Z k b,who was a prominent shipping9 Craig, op. cit. p. 96. merc hant, landowner, and village headman in

l o %7,%&*tJmJF9H%7 Bitchti. T h e expense of Umeda's travel to Ch6-*


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F L ER S H EM , S a t ~ ~ ~ n a - C h b ~ h i i 3rade'Kuemon,18 and Naka no H anzaemon. In 1857 he we nt from Chbsh6 to Hakata, where hemet Hbjb Umon, a Satsuma ronin, and Hirano Kuniomi,lg wh o were subs equentlyprominent both in loyalist political activity and in Satsuma-~hbshiicommercial re-lations. Umeda, H6j6, and H irano a re said to have ag reed on t he desirability of devel-oping business between Satsuma, Chbshii, and BitchU.20 At about the same time, thefirst meeting between Saigb Tak amori2I and Shiraishi Shbichirb took place, if a cryp ticreference in a Shiraishi docum ent can be trusted.22 Early in 1858, a rich m erchant of Ta -kata in the Nara region, Murashima Ch6bE,Z3 who was married to Umeda Umpin's niece,opened a shop in Osaka to handle Ch6shii goods. In th e summer of 1858 Murashima cameto Chbshti to discuss trade. O n his way back to Osaka he visited Nakano Hanzaemonin Tonoshiki. At that time Chbshii exports to the Kansai were rice, salt, wax, and saltfish. Chbshii imported from tha t region clothes, timber, and medical seeds. Umeda Umpinprobably played the biggest part in the development of this traffic. Some of those wholater contributed to the growth of Satchb economic intercourse became experiencedin interregional commerce and also first became acquainted with each other whileparticipating in this Chbshii-Kansai business activity of 1856-8.24

In th e spring of 1858 Nim ure Sahz,25 who was a Sa tsum a goyo-sbcnin (ban merchant),Shiraishi Shoichiro, and Onoya Jiemon, a merchant in Hamasaki,Z6 discussed ex port ofSatsumaaidama to Chbshfi and exp ort of Chbshfi salt and cotton goods to Satsuma. Shira-ishi asked Chbshu ban to ap prove this, and he was told to pu t the request through NakanoHanzaemon. When he did so the ban replied t ha t private merchants should conduc t thetrade experimentally, and, if it proved profitable, the ban would then openly espouseand control it. T h e ban a t th at time en trus ted the ma tter to tw o gonaiyo kakari of MaebtsuSaiban, Nakano Hanzaemon and Yamamoto T 0 r a z 6 . ~ ~n effect, the problem was left, atleast on th e surface, in the hands of these two peasan t officials and Shiraishi Shbichirb,th e Shimonoseki merchan t, wh ile samurai officials of Chbshii kept i n t he background. I tseems that Nakano a nd Yamamoto were no t altogether willing and were partly forcedby th e ban t o accept this responsibility. T h e ban made i t plain to th em th at i t was interest-ed in Satsuma commerce not o nly for its own sake, bu t also because of the op portu nityto ge t intelligence of all kinds from th e Satsuma officials and merchan ts. T h e ban told*shfi was paid by Miyake. See Kobayashi Shigeru 22 Shimonoseki Shi Kyciku Iinkai T M$%ktiM;2 , Chtshi ban Meiji ishin shi kenkyi -R W b I % 4?3.& (ed .), Shiraishi ke monjo 126 %%%, Shi-

I6 $%%:kftRR,Miraisha, Tokyo, 1968, p. 116. monoseki Shi Kydiku ~i n k a i, himonoseki, 1968,18 4#tLi;iB'1 p. 53. Hereafter this work will be cited as SKM.I 9 $ L # & F 7 , TF?@ 23 +$.%&&B20 Tan ak a Akira , Bakumatsu no ChCjhi 8$0 24 Kobayashi, p. 117; Tanaka, 'Bakumatsu

& W l ~ l , Ch6 6 Kcron, T okyo, 1965, p. 108; Tanak a S a t ~ h d ' ~ ,. 57; and TMNKK: Kink6 onegaigaki,Akira, 'Bakumatsu ~atchdkdeki no kenkyt', 1864.Shigaku zasshi, LXIX, no. 3 (20 March 1960), pp. 25 4=-=$ @.1&kB ;Arisawa (% j%) was an alter-54-84 (this article shall hereafter be referred to as native surname.'Bakumatsu S at ch ~' ,) ; nd Kobayashi, pp. 105-17. 26 2l\eE%&% PFj ; .% %, Hagi's port.

21.

21 ?lPE& 27 h * $ >%


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4 Munumen a Nipponica, XXVI, I -2Hanzaemon to cultivate the Satsuma people for this purpose, and years later he com-plained th at he had spe nt too much money entertaining them.28

Nak ano Hanzaemon and Yam amoto To razb wer e to be Chbshii's official links wi th th eexperiment which was sanctioned in the summ er of 1858. T he y were not , however, givenany new position w ith responsibility specifically for Satsuma trade, and their func tionsin that connection were apparently in addition to what they were already doing asgunaiyi kakari.29 T h e y exercised some supervision over th e m erchants thr ou gh w hom th eban conducted the experiment. T h e most imp ortan t of these was Shiraishi, who, livingin Takezaki in Shimonoseki, actually was a subject of ICiyosue ban, a ChbshCi branchban. Shiraishi had th e nick nam e of 'Sasshii don'ya', an d had been enga ged in pr iva tebusiness with Satsuma for some time before Chbshii began in 1858 to explore t he pos-sibilities of planned, official commer~e.~OW hy was Ha nzaem on, as well as To razb , singled o ut from th e oth er gunazja kakari forthis task? T h e answer ma y lie a t least par tly in his pa st experience and personal ability.His long experience in river-boat affairs and in whaling m us t have been imp ortan t factors.W haling seems particularly relevant since whale bones, used for fertilizer, promised tobe am ong th e mo st successful of Chbshii's exports to Satsum a. Hanzaemon's performancein these fields and in importing wax-tree seedlings may have indicated planning andorganizing ability. As Chbshii's exp orts were mo stly village products, a village function-ary such as Hanzaemon ma y have been preferred to a ch~nin. h e fact tha t Shiraishi wasa subject ofa branch ban ma y also have weakened his case. T h e Nakano docum ents sug gesttha t t he burden was p ut on a peasant rather than a samurai official to avoid loss of faceand financial responsibility for ChdshG hun if the venture should prove unprofitable;and to avoid Bakufu suspicion of fraternization betwee n ChbshE and Satsum a samurai.

In th e spring of 1858 Nim ure SahE had bro ugh t w ith him from Satsuma t o Halnasaki158 hydofaidama as a free sample. Its com mercial possibilities we re t o be te sted in Ch bshii,and he proposed to take back w ith him a bou t forty tan3I of Chbshii cotton goods, whichwere to be similarly tested in Satsuma. It was envisaged that business relations wouldbe officially sta rted an d carried o u t by samurai officials of th e tw o ban if th e prelim inaryexperiments, particularly the aidama experiment, proved profitable in the course of ayear or two . If it tu rned o u t tha t Satsuma's aidama could be marketed in Chbshii, it wasthou ght th at Shimonoseki rather than H agi would become th e trading center, and therewe re plans for storin g Satsuma's incoming an d Chbshii's outg oing pro duc ts a t Shiraishi'sstorehouse in Shimonoseki.32

28 TMNKK: Gokiieki kiroku %P 2 8 dZ%, VIII, from th e ban for transmittal to the villagers. See1864. Hanzaemon and Toraz6 tried to persuade TMNKK: Gokiieki kiroku, VIII, 1864.Cl16shti village merc hants and officials to mark et 30 p. 57.anaka, 'Bakumatsu Sa t ~ h 6 '~ ,commodities imported fiom Satsuma. 31 k

29 Hanzaemon had trouble getting coopera- 32 TMNKK: Sasjhz torikumi kiroku, I, 1858.tion on his own and had to request orders


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FLERSHEM, 'Satsuma-Chbshii Trade' 5Shiraishi's original requ est for Chbsh ti han's app rova l had said th at Satsuma had re-

cen tly been ex ploring possibilities for increasing trade. I t was indicated th at Nim urewan ted a Ch bshii official to retu rn w ith him for consultation in Kagoshima. N imure, fur-thermore, offered t o arrange for Satsuma sam urai officials to confer in Shimonoseki whenth ey passed t hr ou gh in th e fall en ro ut e to Ed o (iankin kgtaiJ.33 O n 3 0 August MiharaTb go rb, a S atsuma official, on his w ay to Kagoshima from Edo, consulted in Shimonosekiwi th Shiraishi and Ta kasaki ZembE, a Satsuma functionary stationed in Shimonoseki towat ch o ver Satsuma's commercial intere sts there.34 M ihara said tha t Satsuma shouldhave permanen t business relations w ith Chbshii rather t han other regions, and he u rgedthat Shiraishi come to Kagoshima during the coming month while Mihara would stillbe there before his return to Edo. Mihara also said that he would arrange for ShimazuBungo, a high-ranking S atsuma official (karg, t o sto p in Shimonoseki at th e end ofSep temb er for furth er discussion.35O n I Septem ber 1858 Shiraishi and T akas aki ZembE came by river-boat to visit Nakan oHanzaemon in Tonoshiki.36 Takasaki wanted Hanzaemon and a samurai official to gowith himself and Shiraishi to Kagoshima to observe Satsuma products, geography, andconditions in general.37 In his report on these discussions, Hanzaemon said that theSatsuma representatives were relying especially on export of aidama, but that theythoug ht tha t they also had other products which Chbshti mig ht want. T h e advantagesof selling their goods at Shimonoseki rather than Osaka attracted th em to the idea ofperman ent trade wi th Chbshti, and Hanzaemon m entioned their interest in opening anoffice and storehouse at Shimonoseki. H e also reported th at Satsuma wanted to b uy allof Chbshii's whale bones, an d wou ld pay h igher prices th an Chb shii was th en receivingfrom o the r territories.38

In a letter sen t to Shiraishi on 13 Septem ber 1858, th e day before Shiraishi's d ep art urefor Kagoshima, Hanzaemon explained that both he and his son, Genzb, had wanted togo t o Kagoshima, b u t had been ordered b y ban officials to o ccupy themselves o therwise.Hanzaemon had thus dispatched his assistant, Nakagawa Gempa~hirb?~n his place.In a secret postscript, H anzaemon said t ha t he had been summoned to Hag i to discussSatsuma's desire for a comm ercial establishment in Shimonoseki. Ap pare ntly eager toreassure Shiraishi, on t h e eve of his depar ture, ab ou t th e han's enthusiasm for inter-regional commerce, Hanzaemon remarked that products would be vigorously collectedin Chbshii's rural areas for expo rt, and th at a ban official wou ld go to Hy bg o to see to

33 &\ghgjx 36 ibid.; and S K M , p. 56.34 3%@Kdi3, iZ@?%-&M. Dates in this 37 T M N K K : Sambutsu ikken oyaku narabi ni

article follow the Japanese calendar. jho shimai hikae i&4+%@ 3P%, I 860.8- 4% & $31i35 &%3 fk. T M N K K : Sasjhi torikumi kiroku, 38 T M N K K : Sassha torikumi kiroku, I, 1858.I, 1858. 39 + J I I ; L % ) \ @


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6 Monumenta Nipponica, xxvr, 1-2commercial affairs there. Ha nzae mo n stressed th e secrecy of this information : '. . . makotoni, makoto ni gonainai mbshiage sdrd. . . .'40

Hanzaemon reported to bnn officials in Oc tobe r 1858 tha t h e had provided Shiraishiwith 28 tan of a variety of cotto n goods to be taken to Kagoshima, presum ably for saleor display. T h e 28 tan had been procured in four saiban (Ogbri, Funaki, Yamaguchi, andKumake) and in H agi. On his retu rn t o Shimonoseki from Kagoshima on 6 ~ e c e m b e r1858, Shiraishi wro te to H anzaemon's son, Genzb. Shiraishi said th at he had secured th eSatsuma authorities' agreement to trade with Chbshfi. He thought it urgent for Hagiofficials to follow u p this success quickly by gettin g in touch wi th Takasaki, Satsuma'srepresentative in Shimonoseki. If this we re delayed, Shiraishi feared tha t there m igh t behu rt feelings in Kagoshima, so he urg ed t ha t Hanzaemon ge t th e necessary cooperationin Hagi. H e also pressed Hanzaem on himself to m eet Tak asaki in Shimonoseki before th eend of the year, as Ta kasa ki wou ld ret urn to Kagoshima after the N ew Year's festivities.Shiraishi enthused about the exciting prospects for Satchd commerce. He hoped thatHanzaemon could get Hagi's approva l for business to sta rt early in 1859, and he intim atedth at Takasaki's think ing was similar to his own.41

While Shiraishi reported favorable Satsuma attitudes toward trade with Chdshfi, heneglected to inform Genzb and Hanzaemon in this letter th at attitu des tow ard himselfinKagoshima were not uniformly friendly. Kagoshima goyo-sb~ninhad wished to act asmid dlem en betw een Shiraishi an d sam urai officials. Shiraishi had offended these me rcha ntsby attem pting to bypass them, and he may also have aroused distr ust by his efforts toengage in private business. Shiraishi was handicapped in his negotiations by his lowrank C~b6nin j .4~he re were, moreover, do ubts a bout Hagi's plans in high quarters inKagoshima. The kar6, Shimazu Bungo, for example, was not enthusiastic about theproposed i mp orts from Chb shfi. Ka wa bata Seiemon,43 one of Kagoshima's riches tmerchants, argued, however, tha t th e ideas und er discussion were only tentative, andth at Chbshii probably had oth er m ore desirable products. I n any case, on his retur n fromKagoshima, Shiraishi vigorously soug ht Nakano Hanzaemon's sup port, and Hanzaem onthen handled th e matter with Chbshii ban samurai officials.44

40 @ I 4 @fJb +LE.TMNKK: Sasshii Hanzaemon. SKM, pp. 56-7.torikurni kiroku, I, 1858. 43 il l @;%&@?F j. He had achieved samurai4 l ibid. status.42 Shiraishi was also much annoyed by the 44 TMNKK: S~~sshiiorikztmi kiroku, I, 1858.behavior of NakanB Hanzaemon's henchman, T h e Nak ano docum ents provide much reward-Nakagawa GempachirB. On e senses th at Shira- ing material for analysis of ban decision-makingisli and Nakano were rivals for favor in both in the late Tokugawa period. A happy huntingKagoshima and Hagi. While they were negotiat- ground for this purpose can be found in thein g in Kagoshima, Nakaga wa may have been daily diary kept by Nakagawa GempachirGworking against Shiraishi and reporting to Na- during his sojourn in Kagoshima w it h Shiraishi.

kano anything which he could use against Shira- Sambutsu gok6eki goyo ni tsuki Sasshii Kagoshima ku-ishi. The latter clearly indicates his resentment dari b48~*P2%isP83~1$&j.ll@ikki E 6 7 .9of both Nakagawa GempachirB and Nakano a Z ( 16 Septem ber-6 December, 1858).
mailto:;%&@?Fjmailto:;%&@?Fjmailto:;%&@?Fj


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F L ERSHERI, 'Satsuma-Chbshii T rade ' 7In February 1859 Hanzaemon indicated in a report to I ida Gen~uke,4~samurai

official in Hag i, t ha t Satsuma's inte rest had been stimu lated after Shiraishi's retu rn fromKagoshima by the favorable attitude of the Lord of Satsuma; and by consultation atShimonoseki between Shimazu Bungo, Mihara Tb gorb, and Takasaki ZembE. This reportmen tioned that Kawabata Seiemon had been named to be the Kagoshima official in chargeof the Chbshii traffic. Hanzaemon also stat ed th at, as a result ofShiraishiYs iscussions inKagoshima, th e following products would be emphasized:46

Chishs Exports to SatsumaWhale bones (for fertilizer)Cow an d horse bones (for fertilizer)SaltCotton clothKanten (isinglass, agar-agar)Iwakuni chzj'imi (crepe)Whale oilNoodles

Satsuma Exports to Chishi2AidamaKuroxatd (raw sugar)WaxKatsuobushi (dried bonito)SulphurT inTobaccoRyukyu lacquerware47

Nakano Hanzaemon said in his report that, in the lig ht of the preliminary experiment,the Satsuma officials had approved trade with Chbshii, and he hoped that the Chbshiiofficials would reciprocate. He noted that Satsuma samurai officials were directingSatsuma's effort and taking pa rt in th e negotiations. H e feared th at the en terprise wouldfail if Chbshii samurai officials did n ot show similar inte rest . H e recalled Takasaki Zem-bE's warning t hat t he Satsuma authorities could no t have confidence in Chbshii's a tti tu deunless a Chbshu samurai official of suitable rank accompanied Shiraishi to Kagoshima.Takasak i had felt that an y agreement reached on behalfof Chbshii b y a ch8nin representa-tive would give too little assurance of the lasting commercial ties which Satsuma wished.Satsuma samurai having invo lved themselves, ins ult would be felt in Kagoshima, further-more, if Chbshii samurai hung back. Hanzaemon pointed out, too, that Chbshii might

45 smam sx ) 84%) ZWB ) $9~3746 T M N K K : Sasshi torikumi kiroku, 1859.


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seem to break its promise made almost a year earlier, and rouse Satsuma dis trus t if thesamurai officials did not directly participate now that the experiment had been con-ducted successfully.48

Hanzaemon informed Iida Gensuke that Takasaki would be replaced in Shimonosekiby H amada Yiizaemon,49 bu t was delaying his dep artu re in order to hear Hagi's decision.Eager to be informed before a visit to Shimonoseki by Shimazu Bungo in early March,Takasaki was on th e verge of coming in person to explore the situation in H agi, whereNim ure SahE of Satsuma was already on hand, staying a t th e home of Onoya Jiemon inHamasaki.50

Under this pressure, the g reat men in Hagi cogitated, and then agreed to try the pro-posed trad e for a year or t ~ 0 . 5 1 ut again in the winter of 1859, as in th e previous year,they gave the responsibility to a peasant official, Nakano H a n ~ a e m o n . ~ ~h e Chbshtisamurai officials closely supervised Hanzaemon, but they kept in the background andhad a more hesitant, negative a ttitu de tha n t he Satsuma authorities. In apparent con trastto Satsuma, th ere was as ye t no official position in ChbshC's adm inistration w ith specificresponsibility for Satchb commerce, and Hanzaemon's bureaucratic status seems tohave been little changed b y t he decisions in Ha gi in 1859. H e was, however, forging aheadin his rivalry with Shiraishi. After t he Kagoshima nego tiations in th e fall of 1858, Shiraishigradually was excluded from Chbshu ban commercial affairs, although he continued tobe active in private business with Satsuma and oth er regions.53 From this time on Nakanoseems to have had no rival below t he samurai level for bureaucratic power and influence.54In later years Shiraishi showed his bitterness because of this turn of events;55 in De-cember 1858, however, he was aglow with enthusiasm after his adven tures in Kagoshima,and seemed unaware t ha t his prominence in the trade discussions and maneuvers wouldsoon diminish.56

T h e incipient Satchb traffic stimulated commerce between BitchC, Bizen, and ChbshCin 1859. Hiran o Kuniomi ofHaka ta, Miyake Jbtarb ofBitchCi, and Shiraishi discussed C hb-shii's import of Data (cotton) and tetsuxai (iron)57 and Chbshii's re-export of Satsuma

48 ibid. ma ban to appoin t him as its commercial represen-49 %W%&%7?BEJ tat ive in Shimonoseki. In this peti tion, he showed50 ibid. the Shiraishi family's resentment of its treatm ent5 l Tanaka, 'Bakumatsu S a t ~ h 6 '~ ,. 62. by the Choshfi authorities. As early as June52 TMNKK: Sasshii torikunzi kiroku, 1859. 1858 there had been indications that Shiraishi53 Kobayashi, op. cit. pp. 122-3. Sh6ichir6 might eventually be used by Satsuma5 4 Docume nts pertaining to Satch6 commerce rather than Ch6shii. In 1861 Satsuma hanappoint-were often signed jointly by Yamamoto and ed Rensaku to the position which he had request-Hanzaemon until about the time when Hanzae- ed. See SKM: pp. 463-4; Tanaka, Bakumatsu nomon became Sarrhii kieki shihainin (officer in charge Chkhii, p. 110; and Sarnbutru ikken oyaku narabiof Satsuma trade) in 1861. After tha t, Yamamoto ni sho rhimai hikae, 1857.appears to have faded from the picture. 56 Shiraishi's letter of 18 December 1858 to55 In November 1860 Shiraishi Rensaku B6 Nakano Hanzaemon's son, Genz6.

& I + , Sh6ichiro's younger brother, asked Satsu- 57 t$ , $ftN


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9LERSHEM,Satsuma-Chbshii Trade'aidama to Bizen and Bitchii. In M arch a ship owned by Miyake bro ugh t cotton and ironfrom Bizen to Shimonoseki.58 In August 1859 Chbshii re-exported to Bitchii 400 of 500hyd of aidama received from Satsuma.

In the same month Satsulna established an office in Shimonoseki for business withBitchii and Chbshti, and Satsuma products began to arrive there.59 A t this poin t Satsutnasamurai officials were hesi tan t t o approach Hagi officials directly because Hagi had showngreat reserve, and th e impression was abroad in Kagoshima th at only Shiraishi had showninterest on behalf of Chbshii. In these circumstances, Satsuma advocates of the tradethought th at confidence in Kagoshima would be increased if Nakano Hanzaemon, w howas closer to H agi officialdom than Shiraishi, paid a visit.60 In M ay 1860Hagi not onlyapproved a visit to Kagoshima by Nakano Hanzaemon and Nakagawa Gempachirb, b u tit was also decided that a samurai official, Yoshimatsu Hei~hir6,~Iould accompanythem.62 The mission thus had more of an appearance of official ban backing and moreauthority than Shiraishi's delegation had had.

In later years Nakano Hanzaemon recalled that when Chbshii officials in Edo wereinformed of his mission to Kagoshima, Sufu Ma~anosuke,6~hbshii's foremost leader atthat time, rushed from Edo to Chbshii to join th e consultations with Hanzaemon a ndYoshimatsu H eishirb before their depar ture . Sufu briefed Heish irb, and Shishido KurobE64briefed Hanzaemon. Sufu was interested in exploiting the opportunity to get political,economic, and military information abou t Satsuma, and he urged Yoshimatsu to engagein this intelligence activity regardless of expense. Hanzaemon depa rted on 20 July andreturned to Chbshii on 10 N ~ v e m b e r . ~ ~Nimure advised the Chbshii visitors about a ttitudes in Kagoshima and guided th emaround the castle town. They talked particularly with Katb Heihachi, NishimuraKokuemon, Akashi RokubE, Kakimoto Hikozaemon, and Sakb JiibE.66 They were closelywatched, and their freedom of movement and inquiry were circumscribed. The helpfulNimure, however, on one occasion showed them a gunnery training establishment. Healso purloined a very detailed map of Satsuma and took it to Hanzaemon's inn. TheChbshii people worked th rough the night, secretly making copies, a t some risk t o theirown and Nimure's lives, for their superiors in Edo and Hagi . Perhaps because of Sufu'sinjunctions to Yoshimatsu, Hanzaemon was especially proud of this coup. Sufu's interestis further indicated by th e fact th at Yoshimatsu s ent repo rts to him from Kagoshima.67

58 Tanaka, 'Bakumatsu Satcl16'~, . 57. 66 ~ D ~ T A , + ~ T L ; ; ~ ~ B E J ,azaaz, fi*59 T M NK K : Sambutsu ikken oyaku narabi ni i3 &R P3 , 23 $it%. Hanzaemon reportedsho shimai hikae, 1859. tha t Kat6 Heihachi was one o f Satsuma's tw oT M N K K : Sasshc torikumi kiroku, 1860. richest merchants and had achieved samurai61 ~+!!FDBI? status through the influence o f Zush o SllGzae-62 TMNKK: Kink5 onegaigaki, 1864. mon 34P ff X ti% B3 . T M N K K : Sambutsukata sho63 H%ii&&Rh kiroku ZZ @ 3 2% Z%%,860.64 5 ? P k B n & 4 3 67 T M N K K : Gokiieki kiroku, V I I I , 1864.T M N K K : Gokiieki kiroku, V I I I , 1864.


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As a result of t he nego tiations conducted by H anzaemon and his colleagues in Kago-shima, i t was decided tha t th e following commodities would now be s tr e s se d 9

Ch~shdExports to SatsumaRiceSaltKujira ho~ekasu whale bone-cake for fertilizer)Kurimata (ginned cotton)Striped cottonPrinted cottonDyed cottonPaper69

Satsuma Exports to ChiishaAidzmaTobaccoSulphurKatsuo bushiRy ukyu lacquerwareFlaxRy uky u piece goods and textilesMat t ingNetsSugar

Among other changes, Hanzaemon's mission decided on a much smaller amount ofaidama im por t by Chijshii than had been th e case wh en Shiraishi w en t to Kagoshima tw oyears earlier. Satsuma wanted to prom ote the exp ort of this product, b ut Satsuma aidamawas difficult to sell and had a bad reputa tion i n Chb shii because it w as lower in qua litythan aidama from Awa in Shikoku.70 T hi s was one of th e main difficulties of Satchij trade.Sugar, received from Satsuma, was also difficult to sell in the Got6 Islands and in Chijshii.The general rule was that Chbshii would receive annually 2,500 chii71 of sugar fromSatsuma in exchange for 3,000 koku of rice. When there was trouble in marketing thesugar, Chbshii's r ice shipments might be delayed, causing complaint in K a g ~ s h i m a . ~ ~Th ese difficulties were chronic, b u t the re is also eviden ce ofp rofi t. In 1862, for example,Chbshii had a profit ofove r 81 kan from th e sale ofz,5oo chdofNaha raw sugar in Osaka.73

T h e Nakano docum ents give much fragmentary information. Rice and the bones of6869

ibid.$$@%, $%#$

73 T M N K K : Naha kuro zatt urirabaki isshi 33F@8W% $11 -#a, 1862; and Koshinikata rambutsu-

70 T M N K K : Sasshi torikumi kiroku, 1860. kata rono hoka rho kiroku A $4?i i&@ 3& 9Bb3 dE%,7 l 83 1867.72 T M N K K : Sasshi gokteki kiroku, 1862.


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FLERSHEM, I ISatsuma-Chbshii Trade'whales, cattle, and horses were Chbshii commodities in which Satsuma had markedinterest. In accord with Satsuma's wishes, Chbshii exported the bones to Satsuma only,refusing to sell them elsewhere. Eta74apparently had an impo rtant role in buying up thebones in t he villages and collecting them for export. Satsuma was ex porting its ow npaper to Ryukyu and wanted to re-export Chbshii paper. Chbshii, therefore, made aspecial size which Satsuma requested. Satsuma, which had prev iously bo ugh t salt fromvarious regions, ultimately agreed to buy it only from Choshii. Chbshii's cotton goodsproved popular in Satsuma beyond all expectations. Satsuma tobacco, which had for-merly been ex ported to Edo and O saka, was sold to Chbshii in 1859 and thereafter. It waschopped in Chbshii, and then marketed in Chbshii and the Kansai. T h e sulphur obtainedby Chbshii from Satsuma came from Iwb Jima. Satsuma's katsuobushi, supposed to behigher in quality than that of any other region except Tosa, probably found a goodmarket in Chbshii or was successfully re-exported.75Soon after Nakano Hanzaemon's visit t o Kagoshima, the Satsuma merchant, K ak i~n otoHikozaem on, w ho had th e position of kgeki kakari76 (tr ad e official), cam e to Ha gi . At thisjuncture the Chdshii leaders, especially Sufu Masanosuke, showed more interest andsanctioned t he trade m ore positively than the y had in the past.77 As part of a reorganiza-tion of the Sambutsukata kaish078 (production office), Hagi at long last established inShimonoseki in the spring of 1861 an office specifically concerned with Satsuma corn-m e r ~ e . 7 ~anzaemon was p ut in charge of i t w ith the title of Sasshi k~eki hihainin on6 Decernber.80 It was decided that Hanzaemon could use a sum equivalent to two perce nt of th e silver value of Satchd com mercial transac tions for th e expenses of th e office.81Kakimoto Hikozaemon su ggested to Hanzaemon t ha t a steamship be purchased for 3,000ryas2 to c arry cargoes to t he Osaka area.83 Supp orters of Satchb comm erce were evid entlyin a sanguine mood.

In th e Bunky ii years, 1861-3, Chbshii developed business relations no t only w ithSatsuma, Kokura, and t he other K yushu ban, b ut also w ith m any oth er regions : Bitchii,Aizu, Tsushima, the G ot6 Islands, Hok uriku, and Hokkaido.84 T o th e extent th at theyare indicated in th e Nakan o do cumen ts, exports an d im ports w ere as follows :85

74 & # p. 71.nd Tanaka, 'Bakumatsu S a t c h ~ ' ~ ,75 TMNKK: Sambutsukata sbo kiroku, 1860; 82 aSasshi torikumi kiroku, 1856; Sasshi gokieki kiroku, s3 TMNKK: Sasshi gokieki kiroku, 1861. Ke-

1860; Gokieki kiroku, 1864; and Tanaka, 'Baku- export by Ch6shE of some Satsuma products tomatsu Sa t~ hG '~ , the Osaka area was a feature of the Satch6 trade.. 81.7 6 22%!% 'I. His main inte rest seems to have 84 Kobayashi, op. cit. p. 127; and TMNKK:been Chdshfi trade. Sasshi gokieki kiroku, VI, 1862. Hanzaemon was77 Tanaka, 'Bakumatsu S a t ~ h d ' ~ ,p. 69-71. involved in all this interregional traffic, although78 2 ++Jz$? F f i his exact role in dealings with territories other79 TMNKK: Sasshi gokieki kiroku, 111-IV, 1861. than Satsuma is not clear.

TMNKK: Kinki onegaigaki, 1864; Oboe R , 85 ibid. Some of the products which Ch6shE1861. obtained from Kokura had been previously ex-TMNKK: Sasshi gokteki kiroku, 111, 1860; ported by Kokura to Osaka.


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12 Monumenta Nipponica, x x v ~ ,1-2ChJshG Exports and Re-exports to GotJ Ch8sha Imports from Got8

Rice Tokorotens6(gelidium jelly)Salt KatsuobushiPaper W ax-tree seedsRy uky u sugar (received from Satsuma) Rapeseed

WheatDried sardines

Ch8shG Re-exports to Kokura ChFshG Imports from KokuraProbably aidama and Bark (for paper-m aking)other im ports from TextilesSatsuma Ca ttle and horse bones

Dried m ushroomsRam silkRiceWax-tree seedsMedical seedsLeatherWax

ChJshl Re-exports to Tsushima ChJshG Re-exports to EchixenSatsuma copper Naha kuroxatF (received

from Satsuma)Chgshii Imports from Hokkaido

Ta ngl e and herring-roe (re-exported to Satsuma)

T h e most significant result of this interregional com merce in the last years before th eResto ration m ay have been th e diffusion of th e mood of those who w ished both to over-throw the Eakufu and to move toward modernization in all its aspects. Incidents inChbshu-Fukui relations suggest how loyalist and innovative influence could spreadamong the domains as birds of a feather flocked together in mercantile array on theShimonoseki waterfront. O n one occasion in 1862, Chdshii sent 400 6/78 of kuroxatF toEchizen for which payment was made partly in Western silver, presumably dollarsreceived by Fu kui wh en i t sold silk thread to th e Dut ch in N agasaki. Yuri Kimimasa andYokoi Shbnan,87 noted Fuk ui reformers, bo th were in Chbshii wh en th e suga r purcha sewas being arranged. Yokoi's par t is not kn ow n. Yuri came all the way from Fuk ui toexplain to Hanzaemon tha t pay me nt would be delayed.88

1 88 T M N K K : Sasshi gokceki kiroku, VI, 1862; and Tanaka, 'Bakumatso Satchc',, pp. 32 and 35.


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FLERSHEM, 'Satsuma-Chbshii Trade' I3Business a t Shimonoseki det erio rate d in 1863 and 1864 pa rtl y because of friction w ith

Western nations.89 Hanzaemon continued in charge of Satsuma affairs at the office inShimonoseki a t least un til the spring of 1864. In F ebrua ry of th at year his office becamepart of the Buikukyoku.90 In April his building began to be used as an armory, probablyreflecting the threat from Western warships. Hanzaemon bitterly complained to theban tha t, especially because of the sudden ness of th e change, this was dam aging b othto his own an d t o his office's pr esti ge and co nfusing to all the m erchan ts and officials whokn ew his karnbangl (s ignboard) so well.92 In th e same mon th, official Satchd tra de dis -continued partly because of political tension between the two ban and partly becauseof th e a ttitu de of the Bakufu, which in Augu st forbade trade between Chbshfi and otherterritories. Business continued privately and secretly, but the official suspension was aserious blow to Chdshii.93 Efforts to reestablish commercial ties became intense in themiddle of 1865, as Satsuma and C hbshii increased the ir con tacts in th e year before theyformed their coalition. In th e sum mer a nd fall of 1865 Satsuma aid to Chbshii in bu yingWestern arms at Nagasaki and Chbshii's willingness to sell grains for use by Satsumatroops gave im petus bo th to political and economic rapprochement. Sakamoto Rybma'sgood offices we re a significant factor in these developm ents.94

A t some time du rin g th e break in commercial relations H anzaemon evide ntly lost hisposition in Shimonoseki. In the summer of 1865 Kido Kdin, who in the following yearnegotiated the alliance with Satsuma, was one of the most influential Chdshii leaders.95In A ug us t t he ban se nt Kido to t he Koshinikata96in Shimonoseki to oversee Satsum a traffic,which w as presumably unofficial and secret as indicated b y the fact th at i t was camou-flaged by calling it Tsushima Trade'. Soon thereafter, Kido Kdin and Takasug i Shinsakujointly headed th e enlarge d a nd s tren gth ene d Koshinikata. T hi s office was now responsiblefor Chbshii's external commerce, in wh ich th ere was renewed interest. I t was proposedto emphasize import of raw materials and export of finished products and to use theprofits for the bene fit of th e ban na vy. Sh imonoseki was conceived as the h eart of th is effort.Ships were b ough t, a nd Kido Kbin, Yuri Kimimasa, Takasug i Shinsaku, It6 Hirobum i,Inoue Kaoru, Sakamoto Rybma, and Nakaoka Shinta1-6~~ade plans at Shimonoseki touse these vessels particularly in Chbshii's dealings with Satsuma and H 0k ko ku .9~

89 The Shimonoseki coast was attacked by 316-17.Weste rn warships in June 1863 and A ugust 1864. 95 7 t \F +k.ibid. p. 265.See Craig, pp. zoo and 233. 96 &R590 tlG 97 S+$*l'F, I?+%t$X,#kg, +M ' P & k B P91 %& 98 Tanaka Akira, Meiji ishin sejji shi kenkyc92 TM NKK: Gokoeki kiroku, 1864; and Shimo- B A ~ $ & # % f i s k % f t % % , Aoki Shoten, Tokyo, 1965,

noseki shi shi, p. 164. pp . 190 an d 195; Tan aka, 'Bakuma tsu SatchiY2,93 Tanaka , 'Bakumatsu Sa tch d2 , pp. 36-7. pp. 42-3 ; and Shimonoseki shi shi, p. 164.94 % * # Z , % . Jansen, p. 217; and Craig, pp.


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14 Monuments Nipponica,XXVI, 1-2In Septem ber Kido Kbin visited Nak ano H anzaemon's house in Tonoshiki.99 In a lette r

written on g September Hanzaemon said that he had heard from Kido that the ban hadfunds in the amount of ~o o, oo oya for use in Satsuma trade, wh ich wo uld now be resumed.This meant open, official resumption on a comparatively large scale. The greater im-portance attached at this tim e to Hanzaemon's former position was shown by th e facttha t for th e first tim e a samu rai official, O tsu ka Seiz6,I00 was ap pointed to it , an d he wassupervised by such celebrities as Kido K6in and Takasugi Shinsaku. In a letter writtento Hanzaemon on 4 December 1865, Otsuka confessed his inexperience and perplexityin frequent consultations with Kido and Takasu gi. Otsuka urged H anzaemon to join th eKosbinikata team' in Shimonoseki imm ediately w ith th e title of 'Bantb Kaku', an advisor'srole which betoken ed less stat us for Hanzaemon th an h e had prev iously had.lO1 Both forthis reason and because of financial difficulties,l02 he apparently avoided this first in-vitat ion w ith a plea of sickness. O n 8 Jan uary 1866, how ever, he appe ared in Shimonosekiand discussed comm ercial problems w ith his old acquaintance, Sakb Jib E of Satsuma,among others. On 29 January two ships arrived at Shimonoseki with cargoes fromSatsuma. Kosbinikataprofits during 1866 were I 1,000 9 6 .Io 3

99 This was probably shortly before Kido th e suspension of trade in 1863-4, Hanzaemon wasagreed to Sakamoto Ry6ma's request th at Ch 6- much d isturbed w hen the ban pressed him atshfi sell grain for use by Satsuma troops; and tha t time to pay these debts out of his own pock-shortly after the purchase of rifles and a ship in et. He said in 1864 that at one point he hadAugust by It6 Hirobumi and Inoue Kaoru, who offered to dun ICakimoto, but the ban forbadehad been sent to Nagasaki for th at purpose by this because it did not want to risk hurting Sa-Kido. See Jansen, p. 217; and Craig, pp. 316-17. tsum a feelings when discussions w ere in progress

'00 TtiZz;*$& to improve relations between the two ban. Itlol&3E.1%. Tanaka, 'Bakumatsu Satcho',, is not clear iust when this occurred, but sincep. 43; and Sl~inonoseki hi rbi, op . c it. Hanzaemon was writing in April 1864 he seems

102 Hanzaemon had been held responsible for to be revealing th at imp ortan t Satsuma an dmoney which Satsuma officials and merchants Ch6shfi people were covertly working for re-owed to Chdshii. T h e chief debtors were Nimu re conciliation at a time of severe strain in Satch6SahE and Kakimoto Hikozaemon. Hanzaemon relations two years before the alliance was con-complained th at the ban was try ing t o collect from summated. See TMNKK: Gok5eki kiroku, 1864.him ban money w hich Choshii officials had ordered 103 Tanaka, 'Bakuma tsu Satcho',, pp . 43-4;him to len d toNimu re.Kakim oto's case was differ- and Shirnonoreki shi shi, p. 170. In th e ensuing years,ent. He was obligated to reimburse Ch6shfi ban Nakano Hanzaemon was still involved to somefor ~ h d s h i i oods which had been shipped but dec ree in Ch6shfi's trad e with oth er domains. ForU could not be sold,in Satsuma. It is recorded tha t example, in a letter dated 18 December 1867,Nimure incurred debts in the am ount of 220 ry6 'Kido Junichiro' (Kido K6in) requested Nagayabetween 1856 and 1860; and that Kakimoto owed MatabP AEX l f d to permit five subjects ofover 1800 ryo as a result of business in 1861 and Tsushima ban, who were in Shimonoseki to dis-1862. cuss trade, to stay at the home of NakanoSince it was difficult or impossible for him to Hanzaemon in Tonoshiki.get in touch with the Satsuma officials during


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15LERSHEM,Satsuma-Chbshi Trade'In 1856 the Tsuboi-Mukunashi clique, in one aspect of the Ansei Reform, appointed

gona@ kakari, selected mainly from t h e ranks of village headm en an d village gro up chiefs,to develop rural production for export. As C hbs hi 's exports t o Satsuma were primarilyvillage products, i t was natural that th e ban pu t the m ain burden of assembling thesegoods on t he shoulders of th e gonazja kakari-Nakano Hanz aemo n foremost among them.In its inception, therefore, Chbshi 's interest in trade with Satsuma has th e appearanceof a natural by -product of th e Ansei Reform.

After business was resumed in 1866, however, it had more political than economicsignificance. It served as a sphere ofac tiv ity in wh ich Satsu ma and C h 6 sh i officials couldget acquainted . M an y of these m en w ere no t only influential in Satchb affairs in 1865-6,but later became prominent in the defeat of the Bakufu and in the early years of thetransformation ofJapan after the Meiji Restoration. They included leaders such as KidoKcSin, Inoue K aoru, ItcS Hirob um i, Saigb Takam ori, Ta ka su gi Sh insaku, Y uri Kimimasa,Sakamoto Rybma, Nakaoka Shintarb, Hirosawa Saneomi, and Godai Tomoatsu.14

A t th e start, Satsuma appeared to be more eager for commercial relations tha n C hb sh iand gave them more openly official blessing. After th e Ch b sh i civil war, however, th e tw obm seemed to find common grou nd in economics as well as in politics. O ne would like toknow much more abo ut just wh y leaders such as Kido Kbin and Taka sugi Shinsaku be-came Na kano Hanzaemon's illustrious successors in th e forefront of Satchb ('Tsushima')trade circles in Shimonoseki. There must have been urgent reasons for these men togive personal leadership to an activity designed to improve Ch bshi 's finances. Th e y wereof course inte res ted in providing funds for th e ban's milita ry expenses. Perhaps th ey werealso beguiled b y t he tho ug ht of wa ging econom ic as well as political and m ilitary warfarein order to ta ke national power from th e Bakufu.

T h e traffic with Satsuma had expanded to other regions, notably duri ng th e Bunkyliyears, partly because C hb sh i had to seek markets outside its own territo ry for Satsumaproducts. T hi s experience had und erscored Shimonoseki's strate gic commercial locationa t the crossroad of trade routes ru nnin g to Osaka through th e Japan an d Inland Seasfrom Hokkaido, the Japan Sea coast, and Kyushu. T h e idea was abroad in C hb sh i andSatsuma heads as well as in the ruminations of Sakamoto Rybma that the Shimonosekiarea mi gh t become n ot only t h e fulcrum of Satchb power, bu t t he economic and politicalcen ter of pow er in Japan.lo5

4 % 9 , K l o 5 Tanaka , 'B akumat su Sa t ~hd '~ ,p. 48-50.