The Development of the Monopoly of Straw Mat in Funai-Han

Abstract

The reformation of Funai-Han government inaugurated in the thirteenth year of Tempo was led by Kyubei Hirose, a merchant of Hida. The basic policies of the reform were (1) the change of financial backers from Osaka merchants to Hida merchants, and (2) the maintenance of balanced budget on the basis of tax income. In order to achieve the purpose, the government adopted the fixed tax system to stabilize the income, and strengthened the government monopoly of straw mat, a special product of the Bungo district, to increase the income. In this paper, we will examine the relationship between the development of the governmental reform and the changes of the marketing system of the straw mat which was introduced in the Kanbun period. How did the government monopolize the marketing of the mat, and how did it work? The changes of the marketing system of the straw mat can be divided into three periods: (1) the period before the establishment of the straw mat exchange in the first year of Bunka; (2) the period from the establishment of the exchange to the first unsuccessful reform led by Kyubei Hirose in the eleventh year of Tempo; and (3) the period from the failure of the first reform to the success of the second reform (the thirteenth year of Tempo) when the monoply was established. During the third period, the direct shipment of straw mat to Edo was accomplished instead of shipment through Osaka, with the new move taken by Osaka merchants in the fourth year of Koka. By the direct shipment of the straw mat, the intrusion of Osaka merchants came to an end, and the financial independence from Osaka merchants intended by Hirose was achieved. However, Hiroses's reform was quite reactionary. He tried to reestablish the economy of Han government, and the income from the monopoly of the starw mat was used to pay back the government debt. Since Hida merchants, represented by Kyubei Hirose, were depending on the feudal system, the reform backed by these merchants had its limitaion.