During the Kyoho Era (1716〜1736), the number of Chinese smugglers active in Japan skyrocketed due to trade restrictions imposed by the Tokugawa Shogunate. Seeing this as a serious problem, the Shogunate ordered its feudal lords (daimyo) in the coastal regions, in particular the domains of Hagi 萩, Kokura 小倉 and Fukuoka 福岡 to expel the culprits. This article discusses Shogunate and daimyo attitudes toward the expulsion of smugglers. During 1717-18, the shogunate gradually tightened its policies, emphasizing the necessity to expel Chinese smugglers and even sink their ships in the case of any resistance. Nevertheless, the Shogunate's top priority was to control smuggling, and thus adopted identical measures in dealing with all Chinese vessels regardless of whether they were smugglers or not. During 1719-20, when several Chinese ships were found engaged in smuggling far inland from the coastal area, the Shogunate ordered its daimyo to punish smugglers by seriously damaging their vessels, but the daimyo insisted that sinking them would be the most effective measure. The Shogunate took a position of disagreement; and after the daimyo of Fukuoka sunk a Chinese ship in 1720, the Shogunate began insisting that this kind of military response was unfavorable. On the other hand, the Shogunate ordered its daimyo to take immediate military action to expel any Chinese ship appearing on their coasts. When in 1726, the daimyo of Hagi sank a Chinese ship, a Shogunal investigation of the incident concluded that when an expelled ship is damaged too seriously to be able to escape, it is very likely to sink, resulting in an order during that same year limiting serious attacks on Chinese ships. While the Shogunate initially adopted a firm attitude toward Chinese smugglers for the purpose of re-stabilizing its foreign trade sector, a number of daimyo insisted on the necessity to sink their ships, resulting in apprehension on the part of the Shogunate over escalating use of military force causing a potentially harmful influence on its trade with China. In order to maintain trade relations with China, the Shogunate decided to turn to more peaceful measures to deal with smuggling.

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