The Regional Foundations of Japan’s Industrial Revolution: The First Opening of Moji Port to Foreign Commerce (1885-1886)
An apparent vacuum exists in the economic history of Japan between the difficult years of the “Matsukata deflation” (1881–1884) and the “enterprise boom” (1887–1889) considered to mark the beginning of industrialisation. This widely held view is seemingly confirmed by the example of Moji port in nor...
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| Materyal Türü: | Article ou chapitre numérique |
| Dil: | Anglais |
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Cipango - French Journal of Japanese Studies
2023
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| Online Erişim: | Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM |
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openedition-oai:revues.org:cjs_2144 |
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openedition |
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openedition-oai:revues.org:cjs_2144 https://doi.org/10.4000/cjs.2144 urn:doi:10.4000/cjs.2144 en https://journals.openedition.org/cjs/2144 2023-09-11T02:00:00Z info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess article info:eu-repo/semantics/article urn:handle:20.500.13089/e1jg https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ The Regional Foundations of Japan’s Industrial Revolution: The First Opening of Moji Port to Foreign Commerce (1885-1886) Cipango - French Journal of Japanese Studies INALCO info:eu-repo/semantics/reference/issn/2268-1744 URI:https://journals.openedition.org/cjs Roy, Alexandre Japon Chikuhō Histoire économique Révolution industrielle régions commerce international Asie marché du charbon port Moji Japan economic history Industrial Revolution regions international trade Asia coal market port Moji Chikuhō. An apparent vacuum exists in the economic history of Japan between the difficult years of the “Matsukata deflation” (1881–1884) and the “enterprise boom” (1887–1889) considered to mark the beginning of industrialisation. This widely held view is seemingly confirmed by the example of Moji port in northern Kyūshū, reputedly transformed from a “desolate” place into the industrial heart of Northeast Asia thanks to a government decree in 1889 opening it up to foreign trade. This paper shows that, contrary to popular perception, 1885 and 1886 were not, in fact, empty years but saw the first opening of Moji’s port to international exports thanks to a transregional initiative associating Osaka merchant houses and Chikuhō mine owners. By analysing the structure and strategy of this transregional enterprise, as well as the government’s response to its request to hire foreign vessels and the evolution of domestic and international markets, we can see that the failure of international coal exports from Moji stemmed mainly from the refusal of foreign minister Inoue Kaoru to allow the company to use international ships. An investigation into Inoue’s motives and his well-known connections with the Mitsui Group reveals that while the Japanese Industrial Revolution was indeed triggered by regional forces, these were quickly stifled by the actions of certain government figures linked with the emerging business conglomerates (zaibatsu). Entre les années difficiles de la « déflation Matsukata » (années 1881‑1884) et le « boom des entreprises » (années 1887‑1889) considéré comme le début de la Révolution industrielle au Japon, l’histoire économique japonaise est comme marquée par un vide. En étudiant le port de Moji, à la pointe Nord de Kyûshû, on peut a priori vérifier cette vision générale : un endroit réputé « perdu » avant que le gouvernement décrète en 1889 son ouverture aux exportations internationales, ouvrant la success story de ce port devenant à partir des années 1890 le poumon industriel de l’Asie du Nord-Est… Or, nous montrons ici que les années 1885-1886 ne furent en réalité pas « vides » mais qu’elles furent au contraire celles de la première ouverture du port au commerce international, à l’initiative d’une combinaison d’acteurs régionaux et locaux, associant les milieux marchands d’Ôsaka et miniers du Chikuhô sur le port de Moji.Étudiant la structure et la stratégie de l’entreprise, le traitement administratif par le gouvernement de sa demande d’action internationale et l’évolution du marché intérieur et extérieur, nous montrons que l’élément majeur qui explique l’échec des exportations internationales de charbon depuis Moji fut le refus du ministre des Affaires étrangères, Inoue Kaoru d’autoriser à l’entreprise d’employer des navires étrangers. Cela nous amène à interroger les raisons profondes d’Inoue et ses liens bien connus avec le groupe Mitsui, montrant que si les forces fondatrices de la Révolution industrielle japonaise ont bien été régionales, elles ont pu être très tôt contraintes par l’action de certaines forces gouvernementales liées aux grands groupes (zaibatsu) en formation. |
| collection |
OpenEdition Journal |
| language |
Anglais |
| format |
Article ou chapitre numérique |
| building |
0/Bibliothèque numérique/ 1/Bibliothèque numérique/OpenEdition Journals/ |
| topic |
Japon Chikuhō Histoire économique Révolution industrielle régions commerce international Asie marché du charbon port Moji Japan economic history Industrial Revolution regions international trade Asia coal market port Moji Chikuhō. |
| spellingShingle |
Japon Chikuhō Histoire économique Révolution industrielle régions commerce international Asie marché du charbon port Moji Japan economic history Industrial Revolution regions international trade Asia coal market port Moji Chikuhō. Roy, Alexandre The Regional Foundations of Japan’s Industrial Revolution: The First Opening of Moji Port to Foreign Commerce (1885-1886) |
| description |
An apparent vacuum exists in the economic history of Japan between the difficult years of the “Matsukata deflation” (1881–1884) and the “enterprise boom” (1887–1889) considered to mark the beginning of industrialisation. This widely held view is seemingly confirmed by the example of Moji port in northern Kyūshū, reputedly transformed from a “desolate” place into the industrial heart of Northeast Asia thanks to a government decree in 1889 opening it up to foreign trade. This paper shows that, contrary to popular perception, 1885 and 1886 were not, in fact, empty years but saw the first opening of Moji’s port to international exports thanks to a transregional initiative associating Osaka merchant houses and Chikuhō mine owners. By analysing the structure and strategy of this transregional enterprise, as well as the government’s response to its request to hire foreign vessels and the evolution of domestic and international markets, we can see that the failure of international coal exports from Moji stemmed mainly from the refusal of foreign minister Inoue Kaoru to allow the company to use international ships. An investigation into Inoue’s motives and his well-known connections with the Mitsui Group reveals that while the Japanese Industrial Revolution was indeed triggered by regional forces, these were quickly stifled by the actions of certain government figures linked with the emerging business conglomerates (zaibatsu). |
| author |
Roy, Alexandre |
| author_facet |
Roy, Alexandre |
| author_sort |
Roy, Alexandre |
| title |
The Regional Foundations of Japan’s Industrial Revolution: The First Opening of Moji Port to Foreign Commerce (1885-1886) |
| title_short |
The Regional Foundations of Japan’s Industrial Revolution: The First Opening of Moji Port to Foreign Commerce (1885-1886) |
| title_full |
The Regional Foundations of Japan’s Industrial Revolution: The First Opening of Moji Port to Foreign Commerce (1885-1886) |
| title_fullStr |
The Regional Foundations of Japan’s Industrial Revolution: The First Opening of Moji Port to Foreign Commerce (1885-1886) |
| title_full_unstemmed |
The Regional Foundations of Japan’s Industrial Revolution: The First Opening of Moji Port to Foreign Commerce (1885-1886) |
| title_sort |
regional foundations of japan’s industrial revolution: the first opening of moji port to foreign commerce (1885-1886) |
| publisher |
Cipango - French Journal of Japanese Studies |
| publishDate |
2023 |
| container_title |
URI:https://journals.openedition.org/cjs |
| url |
https://ezproxy.univ-orleans.fr/login?url=https://doi.org/10.4000/cjs.2144 https://ezproxy.univ-orleans.fr/login?url=https://journals.openedition.org/cjs/2144 |
| _version_ |
1877292689786929152 |