ABSTRACT
After the civil war of the eras of Keicho and Genwa the condition of industry and commerce in Japan became normal again, and attention was turned to the production of raw silk, partly to give the farmer a side-line and partly to reduce the price of clothing and textiles, the home-raised silk being much cheaper than the imported. Thus encouraged, in the era of Genroku, Japan was producing raw silk sufficient for her domestic use. The import of foreign raw silk quickly decreased and finally almost ceased, and only Chinese ships, coming from ports near the raw-silk producing districts in China, brought to Nagasaki from 500 kin up to 1,500 kin or so annually. Even this had to be disposed of at a low price, and the Chinese could not reap such profits as before.
