contributor
27,126
edits
Changes
From SamuraiWiki
Jump to navigationJump to searchno edit summary
{{stub}}
{{stub}}
==Reception of Ships==
A Chinese trading vessel would typically be received at the port in the following manner. First, a lookout spotting the ship would send a messenger to the ''bugyôsho'' to report on its size, distance, and description. Other officials were notified, and a few tens of small boats would help tow the junk into the port, where it would drop anchor and sound a gong to announce its arrival. Then, a group of officials, including interpreters, a representative of the [[tojin yashiki|Chinese community]], and the rotating head of one of the Japanese merchant districts, would board the ship, reading out the ban on [[Christianity]] and requiring the Chinese sailors to step on a ''[[fumie]]'' in order to prove they were not Christians trying to sneak into the country. The crew and cargo manifests and other papers were then checked. Officials paid particular attention to the amount of aloewoods, [[ginseng]], camphor, and musk on board. After the ''[[fusetsugaki|fûsetsugaki]]'' (a report on goings-on abroad) was submitted, the Japanese officials left the ship. Nagasaki officials then met and scrutinized the cargo manifest, distributing copies to a number of offices, and to the relevant Japanese merchants.
The ship would begin to be unloaded the following day. The merchant districts of the city took turns being responsible for providing laborers to aid in the work, and being the ones to receive privileges in purchasing the cargo. The head of the Chinese compound met with the ship's crew at the compound warehouses, checking the cargo lists against the actual cargoes, while a group of ''[[ashigaru]]'' remained on hand in a small boat. Any goods destined for shogunate warehouses (e.g. those types of goods to which the ''[[Nagasaki kaisho]]'' claimed a monopoly) were sent there directly.
The rest of the crew typically disembarked and took up residence in the Chinese compound the following day, while Japanese guards guarded the Chinese ship and any cannon or other firearms the Chinese might have brought. Meanwhile, Japanese merchants entered the warehouses, inspected the cargoes, and negotiated prices and purchases. An auction was held the following day, with the Chinese taking part in negotiations over prices. The Chinese would then bid and negotiate similarly for any Japanese goods they wished to transport back to China, and the ''bugyôsho'' would issue permits for a future return.<ref>Jansen, 31-32.</ref>
==Selected Nagasaki Magistrates==
==Selected Nagasaki Magistrates==
