Implementation of the Red Seal Ship System

Timeline

1. 1603–1604Edo · EdoTokugawa Ieyasu, in the name of shogun, issued red seal licenses to merchants of Sakai, Kyoto, and elsewhere, permitting them to build red seal ships and sail abroad for trade, while stipulating trade destinations and tribute obligations.
2. 1604–1612Southeast Asian ports · Southeast AsiaLicensed merchants sailed red seal ships on long voyages, exchanging goods such as silk, porcelain, and swords at Southeast Asian ports, and paid trade revenues to the shogunate, forming an officially led overseas commercial network in the early Edo period.