The Cambridge History of Japan, Vol. 3: Medieval Japan

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THE INITIAL CONDITIONS 359

silver, and precious stones; Buddhist writings of many kinds; and a

large number of Sung coins.

Although there are no reliable data on the quantity of coins im-

ported through private trade, there is no doubt that the amount was

extremely large - large enough to cause Sung China to issue, in 1199,

an unsuccessful decree to prohibit the export of its coins to Japan. It is

also known that Saionji Kintsune, a high-ranking noble, imported as

many as 100,000 kan of Sung coins in 1242, an amount equivalent in

that period to the cost of building the complex of a dozen or so

buildings needed to establish a major Buddhist temple.

The effects of the continuing inflow of coins in such magnitudes

were felt throughout the twelfth century and even more so in the early

decades of the thirteenth. This is perhaps best illustrated by the fact

that a series of decrees prohibiting the use of coins was issued by the

court in 1179, 1187, 1189, and 1192. The futility of these decrees is

evident in that although the first two prohibited the use of imported

coins,

the second two attempted only to limit their use in marketplaces

in the capital.

The reasons stated for the prohibition included such

inconsistent facts as that imported coins were no more legal than the

prohibited, privately minted coins and that the use of coins caused

undesirable price fluctuations. However, the real reason must have

been that the large inflow of coins was causing both inflation, an

unwelcome development for the elites who had to buy more and more

goods and services in the markets, and a drop in the relative value of

the coins that the elites received when selling a part of the shorn dues

paid in kind, thus reducing the real income of the court and the

elites.

However, such official reactions began to change in the beginning of

the thirteenth century. As the inflow of Chinese coins continued to

increase, the use of money - the "money sickness" as contemporaries

called it - spread rapidly. Nobles, and later the bakufu, had no choice

but to come to terms with the fact that coins were far more convenient

than was bartering or using cloth or rice as a medium of exchange.

29 Oyama, Kamakura bakufu, pp.

370-81,

describes the trade with Sung China and the effects

of a large inflow of Sung coins. 30 Ibid., pp. 379-80. 31 Ibid., p. 379.

32 Of course, an empirical verification is required to establish the observation made in the text.

However, given the quantity of Sung coins then flowing into Japan, there is little doubt that

inflation was occurring during this period. See Kozo Yamamura and Tetsuo Kamiki, "Silver

Mines and Sung Coins: A Monetary History of Medieval and Modern Japan in International

Perspective," in J. F. Richards, ed., Precious Metals in the Later Medieval and Early Modem

Worlds

(Durham, N.C.: Carolina Academic Press, 1983), pp. 329-62.

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360 THE GROWTH OF COMMERCE

Thus,

the court declared in 1226 that exchange using coins was to be

encouraged in preference to that using cloth. And by 1240, the use of

coins was prohibited by the bakufu only in the northernmost Ou

region, effectively conceding to the use of coins in all other parts of the

nation.

Simply put, as trade - commercial activities - grew, this con-

venient medium became a necessity.

Foreseeing the various difficulties to arise as a result of the econ-

omy's continuing monetization, in 1239 the bakufu was forced to issue

a decree prohibiting the appointment of monks, merchants, and mon-

eylenders to the position of deputy

jito

(jito-dai).

Some in the warrior

class had begun to appoint these men to collect dues directly from the

shoen

so that those who had lent money against the warriors' land

could be repaid. To prevent such a development, the bakufu in 1240

admonished its retainers living in Kyoto not to indulge in luxury

beyond their means.

These developments, however, were only the

harbinger of the much more serious consequences of monetization.

ACCELERATION OF COMMERCE AND MONETIZATION

From the mid-thirteenth century, the pace of commercial activities

accelerated first in the large cities and then in the provinces. In and

around the capital and in a few larger cities, including Kamakura,

the number of shops selling specialized products and daily necessities

rose;

an increasing number of merchants and artisans selling special-

ized products frequented the cities from nearby towns and villages as

well as from distant provinces; and the za steadily grew in number.

More markets appeared in ports, towns, and at other nodes of trans-

portation in most parts of the nation, and as a result, cultivators too

were able to participate in commerce. Although the cultivators' par-

ticipation was limited during the second half of the Kamakura pe-

riod, there can be no doubt that their economic lives were changing

fundamentally as their visits to local markets grew more frequent and

they traded more goods at these markets. And to facilitate the ex-

panding trade between the largest cities and the provinces, transporta-

tion capabilities, over both land and water, improved, thereby increas-

ing the number of teamsters, porters, and other specialists engaged in

shipping.

A no less visible and significant change that accompanied these

33 Oyama, Kamakura bakufu, p. 379; and Takenaka and Kawakami, Nikon

shogyoshi,

p. 42.

34 Takenaka and Kawakami, Nikon

shogyoshi,

pp.

42-43.

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ACCELERATION OF COMMERCE 361

commercial activities was the continuing monetization of the economy,

which spread from cities to villages with profound effects. The use of

coins made trading much more efficient: When coins were used as a

medium of exchange, the relative values of goods could be established

more readily, and the desired mix of what one consumed could be

obtained far more easily than through bartering. In short, what econo-

mists call transaction costs were significantly reduced. Another effect

was the rapid spread of commutation (payment of dues in cash), en-

abling the cultivators to plant more efficient mixes of grains, vegeta-

bles,

and other cash crops. No longer forced to plant specific mixes of

products in order to pay their dues, cultivators could make better use

of their resources. Another effect common to all monetized economies

was the emergence of borrowers and lenders of money, forcing the

bakufu to adopt policies to aid the borrowers, many of whom were

warriors.

Commerce

and the za in Kyoto

In the latter half of the Kamakura period, the growth of commerce

was nowhere more evident than in Kyoto. Although most shops were

located in the city's commercial section, between Sanjo and Hachijo in

the Sakyo, small shops selling such daily necessities as rice, fish, and

the like could be found throughout the city. Many of these merchants

were former kugonin and artisans who had once supplied the needs of

the court and the nobles but who, throughout the Kamakura period,

gradually became more independent. The court and elite had no need

to discourage their growing independence. As independent suppliers,

the kugonin and artisans required no economic assistance, and as they

produced more for the market, their productive efficiency and skills

also rose. Furthermore, there was an additional economic incentive for

the patrons in permitting, if not encouraging, such independence: In

many cases, these newly independent producers formed za of their

own and paid more dues in kind and services in exchange for their

patron's protection.

The residents of the capital also enjoyed many goods and services

supplied by artisans, fishermen, and cultivators who came to sell their

wares from both the surrounding regions and distant provinces. By

the mid-Kamakura period, more and more merchants - those special-

35 Endo, Nihon

chusei

toshiron,

pp. 99-103; Wakita, Nihon

chusei

toshiron,

pp. 77-84.

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362 THE GROWTH OF COMMERCE

izing in trading and not those selling what they produced, as was often

the case before the mid-thirteenth century - appeared in Kyoto.

The growth of commerce in Kyoto can also be confirmed by the

greater number of za during the thirteenth century. We can establish

from documents written in the 1220s that at least a dozen za were

organized, including those for selling lamp oil, lumber, straw mats,

and several types of cloth. Many were sponsored by the Kofukuji,

Todaiji, Hachimangu, other temples and shrines, and some court no-

bles.

During the mid-thirteenth century za were organized to sell

firewood, fish, dried fish, roof tiles, and various "metal products," as

well as za for various skilled craftsmen such as carpenters, painters,

and smiths. And during the final decades of the century, za were

established among the sellers of dyes, sickles, silk, "birds" (the Bud-

dhist euphemism for small game), and others. Although we cannot be

sure of the exact number of za in Kyoto at the end of the Kamakura

period, it was easily more than a few score. We also know that by the

end of the century, a few za began to appear in regional urban centers

as well.

The za continued to increase in number when, as suggested earlier,

they discovered that they could make a higher profit if potential com-

petitors were prevented from infringing on their monopolistic or

monopsonistic rights. The case of the Oyamazaki-za, organized in

Yamashiro to sell lamp oil under the protection of the Hachiman

Shrine, is an example of how a za emerged under the protection of a

patron.

This za was initially sanctioned to permit a group of men provid-

ing various services to the shrine to sell lamp oil in the capital in

exchange for dues paid in kind. But because these men found that

they could earn more profits by becoming full-time merchants, they

began to expand their markets from Kyoto to the regions on both

sides of the Yodo River and into Hyogo. Such expansion was possible

because the shrine's political power extended to many regions

through its branch shrines and its

shoen

holdings. The fact that the

shrine exempted members of the za from tolls (which were beginning

to be levied by various court nobles and temples during this period)

in exchange for higher dues paid in lamp oil also helped discourage

potential competitors.

The za of this period emerged and grew in similar ways. However,

36 Toyoda and Kodama, Ryulsushi, pp. 80-87;

>d Wakita, Nihon

chusei shogyd

haitatsushi, pp.

235-74- 37 Takenaka and Kawakami, Nihon

shogyoshi,

pp. 39-40.

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ACCELERATION OF COMMERCE 363

from the mid-thirteenth century, the circumstances encouraging the

za's continued development became more pronounced. Many

skden

proprietors - temples and nobles - suffered a continued decline in tax

revenue owing to the rising power of the warriors, and at the same

time,

the marketable surplus was steadily rising because of the higher

agricultural productivity that occurred primarily as a result of more

intensive land cultivation. That is, just when the

shoen

owners felt the

need for additional income from the za, the producers of marketable

goods and the merchants were able to meet that need at

profit. Under

such circumstances, the za, benefiting all concerned, could not but

proliferate.

One might wonder why the warriors allowed the court nobles and

temples to capture the lion's share of the income earned by the za. The

answer to this puzzle can be readily found. As evidenced by Minamoto

Yoritomo's desire for

formal appointment to the Kyoto-based govern-

ment, the bakufu had to remain within the legitimate framework of

the imperial government in order to maintain the delicate balance

between Kyoto and Kamakura. This meant that the Kamakura

bakufu still had to respect the interests of the court nobles and the

temples, whose political power reflected the waning but still substan-

tial power of the throne. In other words, the warriors had to allow the

court nobles and the temples to profit from the za as the price for

supporting the imperial authority in this delicate balance. Of course, it

is also true that some temples had enough military power to rebuff all

but a major attempt by warriors to wrestle away the benefits being

realized by the za. In short, the power of the ascending warrior class

was still insufficient during the thirteenth century to permit it to

capture the gains from the za's expanding activities.

Finally, it is important to note that despite their monopolistic or

monopsonistic activities, the za undoubtedly contributed to the

growth of commerce during the Kamakura period. Given the still-

limited demand, free entry and the consequent competition would

have caused specialization to occur more slowly. Although most of the

benefits resulting from specialization - increased efficiency in produc-

tion and marketing - were undoubtedly shared by the sponsors and

the za members, some of those benefits must have been shared by the

consumers as well.

One reason for making this speculation is that the za sponsors,

usually collecting only a fixed sum from the za, left the benefits of

increased specialization to be shared by za members and consumers.

Another reason is that to the extent the za monopoly was not yet

Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

364 THE GROWTH OF COMMERCE

securely established and consumers could exercise their prerogative to

buy fewer products sold by za if prices were raised, consumers en-

joyed some of the benefits of the za's increased efficiency. Even the

economic gains accruing to the za's members were not totally private

because such gains would help improve skills and the efficiency of

production and distribution, thus benefiting the society as a whole in

the long run.

The growth of markets, towns, and

transportation

There is no doubt that the number of markets - most of them having

only three market days per month

(sansai-ichi)

- steadily increased

across the nation during the second half of the Kamakura period.

When we count the number of local markets mentioned in historical

records, we find that there were only six between 1200 and 1250,

increasing to nineteen between 1250 and 1300, and to twenty-one

between 1300 and

1331.

Such data, though limited, are a useful

indicator of the rise in the number of local markets. These markets

frequently sprang up at or near the nodes of transportation - ports

and the more important crossroads - and in such places as provincial

capitals and the larger local temples.

Reflecting the importance of sea transportation in commerce, port

towns continued to proliferate. The most important among them were

those located on the Seto Inland Sea and Lake Biwa. These port towns

developed as the entrepots for goods bound for the capital region. For

example, Otsu and Sakamoto in Omi Province grew in importance as

the transshipping centers of such products as rice, lumber, salt, paper,

and fish brought from the eastern provinces in the Togoku and

Tokaido regions. Hyogo, Sakai, and Yodo on the Yodo River were

active ports for many goods shipped to the capital region from Kyoto

and several ports on the Inland Sea. Most of

the

products coming from

San'in and Hokuriku passed through Wakasa to ports around Lake

Biwa and then to the capital region. By the end of the Kamakura

period, the capital region, the local markets, and these port towns

constituted a commercial network.

The foregoing shows that transportation, especially over water, was

38 Sasaki, Chusei shohin ryuisushi, pp. 74-97; Toyoda, Chusei Nihon

shogyoshi

no kenkyu, pp.

112-18;

and Takenaka Yasukazu and Sakudo Yotaro, Nihon keizaishi (Tokyo: Gakubunsha,

1972),

pp. 29-30.

39 Takenaka and Sakudo, Nihon keizaishi, pp. 26-28; and Toyoda, Chusei Nihon

shogyoshi

kenkyu, pp. 254-7.

Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

ACCELERATION OF COMMERCE 365

indispensable, and specialists in both sea and land transportation

helped improve this capability. Those specialists meriting our atten-

tion were the toi, more frequently referred to as toimaru during the

Kamakura period, who performed managerial functions (including

the supervision of ship captains, crew, and stevedores) and also en-

gaged in the warehousing and delivery of cargo (including dues in rice

or other products).

Many of the toimaru were either large enterprising myoshu, minor

retainers, or relatives oijito and shokan who received, for performing

these roles, rights to yields of rice and other crops from designated

rice paddies within a shden or a kokugaryo.

The toimaru were also

responsible for supervising porters (many of whom were cultivators

discharging their corvee obligations) and other specialists of land

transportation.

Also contributing to transportation capabilities in the thirteenth

century was the gradual increase, beginning in mid-century, of kaisen,

literally, "ships making rounds." These ships were chartered to carry

cargo on consignment or were used by their owners for trading of their

own. They were most frequently found in the Seto Inland Sea, but

during the second half of the Kamakura period, many traveled from

distant northern ports to ports on the Japan Sea near Lake Biwa.

Though some of these ships were manned by fishermen, as were those

of Sugaura on Lake Biwa, by the end of the Kamakura period, many

others were operated by full-time specialists. The growing importance

of kaisen in the commerce of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries

can be confirmed by frequent references to them in contemporary

records.

Perhaps because most bulk goods were transported by water, there

are few historical records of the Kamakura period that refer to special-

ists in land transportation. This does not mean, however, that these

specialists did not exist. It is known that by the mid-thirteenth century

the

shoen

administrators and proprietors were beginning to engage the

services of shariki (teamsters using carts) and others because the culti-

vators were not providing all of the necessary land transportation. The

need for these specialists, however, rose only slowly. Even by the end

of the Kamakura period, the scale of their business was such that most

merchants and artisans were still able to transport their wares without

40 Toyoda's Chmei Nihon

shogyoshi

no kenkyu, pp. 196-354, still is one of the best sources on

toimaru. For a good description, also see Kodama and Toyoda, Ryuisushi, pp. 57-62.

41 Toyoda,

Chusei

Nihon

shogyoshi no

kenkyu,

pp. 196—206.

42 Ibid., pp. 221-5; and Kodama and Toyoda, RyuBusAi, pp. 103-11.

Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008

366 THE GROWTH OF COMMERCE

their assistance. It was not until the Muromachi period that the num-

ber of specialists in land transportation rapidly increased.

Monetization and

commutation

The importation and use of Chinese coins, which had begun to

increase in the early decades of the thirteenth century, accelerated

from mid-century. Japan's importation of Sung coins indeed became

so large that copper coins frequently disappeared from the cities of

the T'ai-chou region of China within a day after Japanese traders

came in search of them. In an attempt to stem this outflow, Sung

China issued decrees that prohibited the export of coins and in 1254

limited the number of Japanese ships allowed to call on its ports to

only five per year. But these measures did not succeed, because

"forty to fifty Japanese ships, coming every year to exchange lumber,

sulphur, and other products for coins, were helped by inspectors who

took bribes, hid coins at the bottom of ships ... or loaded coins

after the inspection."

Although trade between Japan and China declined sharply after the

collapse of Southern Sung in 1279, and especially because of the Mon-

gol attempts to invade Japan, the importation of Chinese coins contin-

ued, albeit at a reduced level. Unauthorized Japanese merchant ships

continued to trade with the coastal cities of China and brought back

coins well into the fourteenth century.

The largest amount of these

coins were imported during the century or so preceding the demise of

the Southern Sung. According to a study of large (non-overlapping)

collections of Chinese coins found in Japan, approximately 85 percent

consisted of Sung and Southern Sung coins.

There is no doubt that by the middle of the thirteenth century, coins

were being used daily by residents of the capital and other large cities

as the principal medium of trade. The use of coins also grew in towns

and villages throughout the second half of the Kamakura period. With

Kyoto at the center, the use of money expanded from Kinai to the

distant provinces and from the nobles and the temples to the cultiva-

tors.

The record shows that even as early as the 1240s, coins were used

in the remote Ou region in the north.

The monetization of the econ-

43 Kobata Atsushi, Nihon kahei

ryutsushi

(Tokyo: Toko shoin, 1969), p. 48.

44 Takenaka and Kawakami, Nihon

shogyoshi,

pp. 48-49.

45 For a discussion and analysis of these studies, see Yamamura and Kamiki, "Silver Mines and

Sung Coins," pp. 336-8. 46 Takenaka and Kawakami, Nihon

shogyoshi,

p. 42.

ACCELERATION OF COMMERCE 367

omy was proceeding in response to, as well as promoting, the develop-

ment of markets in provinces throughout the nation.

Attesting to the degree of monetization achieved by mid-century,

documents show that nobles and temples paid cash for most wages,

stipends, clothing allowances, ceremonial costs, some transportation

costs,

and the like. For example, Todaiji documents dated between

1261 and 1279 confirm that by this time most of the temple's allow-

ances to its monks were paid in cash and only a small part in kind.

As well-known study of land sales records in the Kinai region shows

that the use of cash became more important as a medium of exchange

throughout the Kamakura period. This study found that between

1186 and 1219, of a sample of 187 land sales, 139 were conducted

using rice as the medium of exchange, 7 using cloth, and the remain-

ing 40 using cash. Between 1220 and 1283, of a sample of 331 land

sales,

cash was used in 143 cases, rice in 181, and cloth in 7. Finally,

between 1284 and 1333, of a sample of 189 land sales, 124 used cash,

64 used rice, and only 1 sale used cloth. In short, over these three

periods, the proportion of the transactions conducted in cash went

from 21 percent to 42 percent and then to 66 percent.

The importance of money for residents of large cities and even for

others is also evident in the appearance of bills of exchange and money-

lenders. Bills of exchange began to be used sometime during the sec-

ond half of the thirteenth century to alleviate the costs and risks of

transporting cash over long distances for trading, paying dues in cash,

and meeting expenditures incurred by litigants forced to remain in

Kamakura for the duration of court proceedings.

The oldest surviving evidence of a bill of exchange - called vari-

ously kawashi, saifu, or warifu - is dated 1279. This bill enabled the

holder, a local power (a person who had reclaimed some amount of

land and exercised political and military authority in the region) in Kii

Province (modern Wakayama Prefecture) to receive cash in Kama-

kura. Although most of the remaining documents show that these bills

were used by litigants and by jito and shoen administrators sending

dues to the capital, there are a number of documents, especially dur-

ing the final decades of the Kamakura period, demonstrating that bills

47 Sasaki, Chusei

shohin

ryutsushi, p. 262.

48 This study was made by Tamaizumi Tairyo and is described and discussed in Kobata, Nihon

kahei ryutsushi, pp. 40-46. Also see Toyoda, Chusei Nihon

shogyoshi

no kenkyii, pp. 101-8;

and Nagahara Keiji, "Shoen ryoshu keizai no kozo," in Nagahara, ed., Nihon keizaishi taikei,

vol.

2, pp. 80-85.

368 THE GROWTH OF COMMERCE

were also used for trading between sellers (producers and merchants)

of specialized products and buyers (nobles and temples).

However, an even more important result of the rapid monetization

was,

as noted in an official bakufu document issued in 1255, a visible

increase in the number of moneylenders, beginning in the middle of

the thirteenth century. These moneylenders, who were called

kashiage

kariage

and who usually took pawns, consisted of

sanso

(literally,

"mountain monks," monks of the powerful Enryakuji temple on

Mount Hiei in Kyoto), some

toimaru

of larger port towns, some monks

from other temples, and a number of richer merchants. The

sanso

became moneylenders because of the availability of

large and steady

cash income from

shoen

dues owed to the temple and collected in cash

and donations of coins from worshipers and because the

sanso

were in

a position to remind borrowers that failure to repay the loans could

bring about the wrath of God. The toimaru began to engage in

money lending as a natural sideline to their occupation. The larger

among them had enough cash income and warehouses in which to

store the pawns and were strategically located in port towns where the

need for loans was greater.

This proliferation of moneylenders re-

flected the degree to which the economy's monetization had pro-

ceeded.

Yet another important development brought about by monetization

was

daisenno

(paying dues in cash instead of in kind; commutation)

which became prevalent during the latter half of the Kamakura pe-

riod. The following data are useful as a quantitative indicator of the

popularity of commutation.

Sasaki Ginya collected 170 historical records of the 1230-1350 pe-

riod containing references to at least partial commutation and classi-

fied them by date. He found that only 6 of these records belonged to

the 1230-50 period, 38 to the 1251-1300 period, and 126 to the 1301-

50 period. Although we cannot assume that these records accurately

reflect the speed with which commutation increased, this study pro-

vides valuable evidence indicating how quickly commutation became

popular during the final decades of

the

Kamakura period.

An exami-

49 Toyoda, Chusei Nihon

shogyoshi no

kenkyu, pp. 264-30x3, contains an excellent description of

numerous original documents. Takenaka and Sakudo, Nihon keizaishi, pp.

30-31,

provides a

useful example showing how a specific kawase was used.

50 See Toyoda, Chusei Nihon

shogyoshi

no kenkyu; and Kodama and Toyoda, Ryutsushi.

51 The data were first presented and analyzed by Sasaki Ginya, "Shoen ni okeru daisenno-sei no

seiritsu to tenkai," in Nagahara Keiji and Inagaki Yasuhiko, eds., Chusei no shakai

keizai

(Tokyo: Tokyo daigaku shuppankai, 1962), which was later expanded and published in

Sasaki's Chusei shohin ryutsushi.