Abstract
The aim of this paper is to examine the collapse of the early modern salt industry of the Inland Sea from the period after the development of the practice of kyuhin (giving beaches rest periods), with special reference to the role of management. Kyuhin was a method of controlling production which was developed in the Inland Sea area in the early-modern period because at that time taxes and farm rents accounted for a relatively small amount of total expenses. However, taxes and farm rents later began to rise and an increased demand for coal and labor led to higher prices for coal and higher wages. This had a bad effect on the salt industry. Finally, while the industry did regain profitability in the late Tokugawa and early Meiji periods, a failure to use this revenue to invest in equipment and increase productivity meant that it did not become sufficiently competitive. These factors made it particularly difficult for the industry to withstand the deflationary policies adopted by Finance Minister Matsukata in the early 1880s.
