Japan's Economy by Proxy in the Seventeenth Century: China, the Netherlands, and the Bakufu

Laver (history, U. of Wisconsin) examines the economy of Japan in the seventeenth century, at a time when the country was in the sakoku or "closed country" period. Despite the limitations of contact between Japanese merchants and foreign counterparts, Japan continued to have economic impact on the Asian mainland through the agency of Dutch, Chinese, Korean, and Ryukyu Islanders trading European and Asian luxury goods for Japanese products. Chapters discuss Japan and the Netherlands in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, Japanese Shuinsen merchants, silver in Japan's foreign trade from 1600-1668, Dutch Taiwan as a strategic link between Japan and Asia, and imports and exports in seventeenth-century Japan. Three appendices are included, listing a character index, Japanese era names 1555-1704, and presidents of the VOC factory in Japan 1609- 1700; a brief glossary at the start of the book includes foreign terms and definitions. Annotation c2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)