Changes

The Edo period saw considerable economic growth, including the intensification of agriculture; the expansion of domestic trade networks along road, river, and sea; the growth of merchant guilds and of proto-industrial production networks; and the emergence of a system of [[rice brokers]] which represented the first futures market in the world and something of a proto-modern banking system.

The Edo period saw considerable economic growth, including the intensification of agriculture; the expansion of domestic trade networks along road, river, and sea; the growth of merchant guilds and of proto-industrial production networks; and the emergence of a system of [[rice brokers]] which represented the first futures market in the world and something of a proto-modern banking system.

Guilds, abolished under [[Oda Nobunaga]], were reinstated over the course of the period, with merchants paying a small fee for membership in organizations which enjoyed monopoly privileges at the marketplaces.<ref name=craig79>Albert Craig, 79-80.</ref> The lords of many domains also secured for themselves monopolies on certain goods; to name one example, the [[Shimazu clan]] lords of [[Satsuma han]] held a shogunate-recognized monopoly on trade in sugar.

 

Guilds, abolished under [[Oda Nobunaga]], were reinstated over the course of the period, with merchants paying a small fee for membership in organizations which enjoyed monopoly privileges at the marketplaces.<ref name=craig79>Albert Craig, 79-80.</ref> The lords of many domains also secured for themselves monopolies on certain goods; to name one example, the [[Shimazu clan]] lords of [[Satsuma han]] held a shogunate-recognized monopoly on trade in [[sugar]]. Over the course of the mid-to-late 18th century, the shogunate reorganized these guilds, granting more official sanction to the ''[[kabunakama]]'', and placing the ''[[za]]'' under more direct shogunate control; through a combination of these ''za'', clearinghouses established in [[Nagasaki kaisho|Nagasaki]] and elsewhere, and other systems, by the end of the 18th century, the shogunate was able to exercise direct control over the import and domestic shipment of a number of goods; whereas many of these goods had previously been purchased from the [[VOC|Dutch]] and [[Chinese in Nagasaki|Chinese]] by [[Nagasaki]]-based merchants, who then sold it to merchants in [[Kyoto]], [[Osaka]], and [[Edo]], facilitating distribution and circulation through private channels, a variety of goods were now purchased from the Dutch and Chinese by the shogunate-run ''Nagasaki kaisho'' (Nagasaki customs house, or clearinghouse), which then sent them directly to shogunate-sanctioned ''za'' or shogunate-run storehouses in the three cities.

In the late 18th century, merchant houses worth more than 200,000 ''[[currency|ryô]]'' numbered more than two hundred. With one ''ryô'' being ostensibly equal in value to one ''koku'', this made the wealth of these merchant houses equivalent to that of some of the wealthiest ''daimyô''.<ref name=brief135/>

In the late 18th century, merchant houses worth more than 200,000 ''[[currency|ryô]]'' numbered more than two hundred. With one ''ryô'' being ostensibly equal in value to one ''koku'', this made the wealth of these merchant houses equivalent to that of some of the wealthiest ''daimyô''.<ref name=brief135/>

Though taxation rates differed dramatically by region, farmers on average paid roughly 33-50% of their agricultural yields in taxes to their lords. For fishermen, the percentage of their catch was lower, around 20-40%. Throughout the period, only about one-third of taxes were paid in cash, with the rest paid in agricultural & other products and commodities.<ref name=craig71>Albert Craig, 71-72.</ref> Taxes were based on land surveys conducted chiefly in the 17th century; reassessments of agricultural productivity were rare in the 18th and 19th centuries, and tax rates remained largely stable.<ref name=craig79/>

Though taxation rates differed dramatically by region, farmers on average paid roughly 33-50% of their agricultural yields in taxes to their lords. For fishermen, the percentage of their catch was lower, around 20-40%. Throughout the period, only about one-third of taxes were paid in cash, with the rest paid in agricultural & other products and commodities.<ref name=craig71>Albert Craig, 71-72.</ref> Taxes were based on land surveys conducted chiefly in the 17th century; reassessments of agricultural productivity were rare in the 18th and 19th centuries, and tax rates remained largely stable.<ref name=craig79/>

The chief exports from Japan in this period were precious metals (chiefly [[silver]] and [[copper]]), especially in the first half of the period, and marine products, which were divided into two categories. ''Tawaramono'' (goods in rice straw bales) included dried abalone, shark fin, and sea cucumber, while another category, ''shoshiki kaisanbutsu'' ("various kinds marine products") included dried kelp and, as the term suggests, a variety of other marine products.<ref>Robert Hellyer, ''Defining Engagement'', Harvard University Press (2009), 55.</ref>

The chief exports from Japan in this period were precious metals (chiefly [[silver]] and [[copper]]), especially in the first half of the period, and marine products, which were divided into two categories. ''Tawaramono'' (goods in rice straw bales) included dried abalone, shark fin, and sea cucumber, while another category, ''shoshiki kaisanbutsu'' ("various kinds marine products") included dried kelp and, as the term suggests, a variety of other marine products.<ref>Robert Hellyer, ''Defining Engagement'', Harvard University Press (2009), 55.</ref> By the beginning of the 19th century, the flow of precious metals had reversed, with the shogunate successfully halting the outflow of [[gold]] and silver, restricting the outflow of copper, and then beginning to ''import'' silver in considerable quantities, exchanging for it, chiefly, marine products.

==Popular Culture==

==Popular Culture==