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In the early years of the Tokugawa shogunate, various efforts were made to gain access to formal Chinese trade, thus curbing the ''wakô'' phenomenon by diminishing the situations under which traders between China and Japan would be considered "pirates."

In the early years of the Tokugawa shogunate, various efforts were made to gain access to formal Chinese trade, thus curbing the ''wakô'' phenomenon by diminishing the situations under which traders between China and Japan would be considered "pirates."

A letter sent by the shogunate to the Governor-General of Fujian in [[1610]] was among these efforts. The letter was drafted by [[Hayashi Razan]] and ''[[Nagasaki bugyo|Nagasaki bugyô]]'' [[Hasegawa Sahyoe|Hasegawa Sahyôe]], and passed through the hands of [[Honda Masazumi]] and the Chinese merchant [[Zhou Xingru]], who had in fact come to Japan in order to complain about the pirates. The letter was aimed chiefly at seeking normalized relations with China, and access to the official tally trade. It offers that [[Nagasaki]] will be formally opened as a port for traders from Fujian, and offers that a formal Japanese mission will be sent to China once access to formal trade is obtained. The letter also requests that wood, water, or other supplies be provided to Japanese sailors who find their way to Chinese shores in an emergency (shipwreck, drifting off-course, etc.), but explains the [[red seal ships]] system, and grants permission to the Chinese authorities to punish as a pirate anyone not carrying a vermillion-sealed license.<ref>Arano. p209.</ref> By 1620, however, the shogunate gave up on trying to restore relations with China.<ref>Arano. p210.</ref>

A letter sent by the shogunate to the Governor-General of Fujian in [[1610]] was among these efforts. The letter was drafted by [[Hayashi Razan]] and ''[[Nagasaki bugyo|Nagasaki bugyô]]'' [[Hasegawa Fujihiro|Hasegawa Sahyôe]], and passed through the hands of [[Honda Masazumi]] and the Chinese merchant [[Zhou Xingru]], who had in fact come to Japan in order to complain about the pirates. The letter was aimed chiefly at seeking normalized relations with China, and access to the official tally trade. It offers that [[Nagasaki]] will be formally opened as a port for traders from Fujian, and offers that a formal Japanese mission will be sent to China once access to formal trade is obtained. The letter also requests that wood, water, or other supplies be provided to Japanese sailors who find their way to Chinese shores in an emergency (shipwreck, drifting off-course, etc.), but explains the [[red seal ships]] system, and grants permission to the Chinese authorities to punish as a pirate anyone not carrying a vermillion-sealed license.<ref>Arano. p209.</ref> By 1620, however, the shogunate gave up on trying to restore relations with China.<ref>Arano. p210.</ref>

The imposition of [[kaikin|maritime restrictions]] in the 1630s dealt a major blow to the ''wakô''. All but three ports<ref>Plus the more land-based "port" of access in [[Matsumae han]] for interactions and trade with [[Ainu]].</ref> were closed to foreign trade, and Japanese were forbidden from leaving the country or returning. ''Wakô'' activity still continued among Japanese, and others, based overseas, who traded (or raided) in China, Korea, and Southeast Asia, as well as among, presumably, some small number of smugglers who continued to engage in illegal operations along the Kyushu coast. Following the fall of the Ming dynasty in [[1644]], Ming loyalists continued to fight against the [[Manchus|Manchu]] conquest for forty years; these loyalists, and others associated with them, may have been at times referred to as ''wakô'' in Qing documents.

The imposition of [[kaikin|maritime restrictions]] in the 1630s dealt a major blow to the ''wakô''. All but three ports<ref>Plus the more land-based "port" of access in [[Matsumae han]] for interactions and trade with [[Ainu]].</ref> were closed to foreign trade, and Japanese were forbidden from leaving the country or returning. ''Wakô'' activity still continued among Japanese, and others, based overseas, who traded (or raided) in China, Korea, and Southeast Asia, as well as among, presumably, some small number of smugglers who continued to engage in illegal operations along the Kyushu coast. Following the fall of the Ming dynasty in [[1644]], Ming loyalists continued to fight against the [[Manchus|Manchu]] conquest for forty years; these loyalists, and others associated with them, may have been at times referred to as ''wakô'' in Qing documents.