A Basic Study of the Finances of the Tokugawa Government

Research Project

Project/Area Number	63510187
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for General Scientific Research (C)
Allocation Type	Single-year Grants
Research Field	Japanese history
Research Institution	Yokohama College of Commerce
Principal Investigator	IIJIMA Chiaki Yokohama College of Commerce, The Faculty of Commerce, Assistant Professor, 商学部, 助教授 (90151224)
Project Period (FY)	1988 – 1989
Project Status	Completed (Fiscal Year 1989)
Budget Amount *help	¥1,300,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,300,000) Fiscal Year 1989: ¥500,000 (Direct Cost: ¥500,000) Fiscal Year 1988: ¥800,000 (Direct Cost: ¥800,000)
Keywords	Finances of the Tokugawa Government / Books of the Finances / Money and rice stocked by the Tokugawa Government / Emergency funds in the Edo Castle Tower treasure room / 幕末維新 / 貨幣改鋳路洋銀 / 貸付金 / 上納金 / 財政史料
Research Abstract	In order to implement this study, it was indispensable to gather the materials concerned with the Edo Shogunate Government Kanjosho. Fortunately I came across two invaluable pieces of materials during the field study. The first is financial records in the eighth year of Ten-mei (1788 A.D.) and the other is records in the first year of Gen-ji (1864 A.D.). Since the former material was a financial, estimate, it was difficult to determine the exact financial conditions of that year. But it showed such interesting items: (1) ordinary accounts and provisional accounts were treated separately, (2) over 300,000 ryo and over 10,000 goku were set aside for the reconstruction of the war-damaged Kyoto Palace, and (3) also in that year it was estimated that the total revenue would exceed 1,430,000 ryo and over 520,000 goku. Concerning the financial conditions in the first year of Gan-ji, the following points were established in this study: (1) the rice paid as land tax maintained the level as the Tempo-Bunkyu period (1830-63 A.D.). And the money collected maintained the total revenue and expenditures in balance based on the marginal profits produced by reminting the coins for profit margin of coin production. (2) The punitive expedition to the fief of Choshu made the transfer of rice taxes and money taxes paid so diversified that these were often not sent directly to the Shogun's warehouses. (3.) The Bakurocho-Kashitsukekin was used to financially support those daimyo and hatamoto who were short of funds. The exact figures of money and rice stocked in the warehouses were not referred to in this study. But the emergency funds in the Edo Castle Tower treasure room was fairly clear as to its amount and sources.