Japan–Song Trade (1130s)

Timeline

1. 1131–1136Hakatsu · FukuokaSong merchant ships arrived at Hakata and traded with Song residents in the "Song residences" there as well as with Japanese merchants. The Dazaifu handled reception and taxation, and temple-shrine powers also intervened in the distribution of trade profits; Tang goods flowed from here into aristocratic society in Heian-kyō.
2. 1132–1140Mingzhou (Ningbo) · ZhejiangThe Southern Song established maritime trade offices in Mingzhou, Quanzhou, and elsewhere to manage overseas trade. Song porcelain, silk textiles, and spices were transported to Japan by sea, and Japanese exports were in turn re-exported to the South Seas. In the 1130s, trade volume remained high as sea routes flourished after the Song court's move south.
3. 1135–1140Seto Inland Sea · Seto Inland SeaTaira no Tadamasa, Taira no Kiyomori, and others participated in trade escort and smuggling suppression through the Ise naval forces and Seto Inland Sea shipping, reaping enormous profits from it. Japan–Song trade was not only economic exchange but also became an important source of wealth and political capital for warrior houses in the late Heian period.