Japanese Civilization (Part 23) Part 2.

(From Journal of Japanese Trade & Industry (JJTI))

Byline: Kawakatsu Heita

Cotton in Japan An authentic record compiled in 841 stated that cotton seeds were first brought into Japan by a Malay who came from Sumatra to Japan in AD 799. Another record compiled in 892 described the method of cotton cultivation and its geographical distribution in the country. This cotton, which is believed to be the G. arboreum variety indicum, had died out by the Kamakura period (1192-1333).

The new cotton seed of sinense was brought into Japan during the 16th century from China either via Korea or Ryukyu (the present Okinawa Prefecture). There are number of theories on the date of the introduction of sinense: between the 1490s and the 1510s, or in 1588, or between 1592-1595. These different dates suggest that the cotton seeds were probably brought to Japan from Korea or Ryukyu on different occasions and spread to different regions. Undoubtedly by the early 16th century, there had been cotton cultivation and manufacturing in Mikawa (the present Aichi Prefecture), as some records suggest that Mikawa-made cotton was sold in Nara from around 1510s, and that Mikawa merchants, who were under the protection of their local lord, were trying to widen their textile markets to Kyoto. Totomi and Suruga (the present Shizuoka Prefecture) were also reported to have produced cotton textiles by the middle of the 16th century. In the 1570s, Musashi (between the present Tokyo and Saitama Prefectures) had local markets for cotton textiles. About the same time, cotton textiles were collected as taxes in the town of Kofu (the present Yamanashi Prefecture).

The places mentioned above were all situated in the eastern part of Japan between Nagoya and Tokyo. The center of cotton production throughout the Edo period (1600-1868) was consolidated in the western half of Japan: Osaka, the surrounding Kinai region and the coastal region of the Inland Sea. Production then moved westwards in the late 16th century. There is a report that cotton was grown in Yamato (the present Nara Prefecture) in 1591. Cotton then seems to have spread further westwards to Osaka. Osaka is mentioned for the first time as a cotton region in a record of 1623, stating that a merchant group was organized to secure hoshika (dried sardine and herring) used as fertilizer for growing cotton. By this time cotton cultivation had been established. In 1644 this trade organization developed into a guild which monopolized the trade of hoshika brought from the present Chiba Prefecture over a distance of 500 km. In 1658 another guild was formed to monopolize sales of raw cotton for export to the northern Japan. Nogyozensho (Encyclopedia of Agriculture) published in 1597 and Hyakushodenki (Record of Peasantry) published during 1580-1582 both mentioned Kawachi, Izumi (the present Osaka), Harima, Settsu (the present Hyogo Prefecture) and Bingo (the present Hiroshima Prefecture) as the main centers of cotton production in the late 17th century. The cotton products brought into Osaka in 1735 consisted of cotton cloth (74%), cotton yarn (16%) and ginned and raw cotton (10%). The quantity of ginned cotton amounted to 50,000 kan(3) and raw cotton amounted to 350,000 kan. Annual average production rose to 2 million and 1.5 million kan respectively between 1804 and 1834. The cotton growing area in the early 19th century was almost the same in the early Meiji period.

Concerning the quality of Japanese-made cotton cloth, Ono Koji stated, "what ...