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1730–1869 · Dōjima rice market

Setting prices in a city receiving rice

Domain warehouses, rice receipts and contracts connected rice to money in Osaka.

Dōjima, Osaka
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Trading a rice bill while the rice stays put

Does acquiring a bill mean the rice bales have already arrived?

Straw-wrapped rice bales enter a canalside warehouse, where other bales remain stacked.
01Store the rice
Rice balesWarehouse residence

The rice is held in the warehouse.

A place to sell tax rice

Domains brought tax rice to cities such as Osaka and sold it from warehouses. Raising funds depended on transporting and storing the same goods.

Sources and scope

These illustrations explain processes and institutions rather than reconstructing actual people, buildings or layouts. Cutaways and insets show hidden structures or separate locations.

Dojima rice exchange ↗

Store the rice

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Straw-wrapped rice bales enter a canalside warehouse, where other bales remain stacked.

Straw-wrapped rice bales enter a canalside warehouse, where other bales remain stacked.

Rice reaches domain warehouses

Domains sent tax rice to Osaka warehouses and sold it for revenue. Production and wholesale selling occurred in different places, requiring transport, storage and auction. The concentration of warehouses at Nakanoshima connected regional crops with an urban market.

Rice bills promised delivery and could themselves be traded. A claim could move without moving the bales after every sale. That depended on identifiable promises and organised dealings, connecting warehouse stocks with documentary rights.

[1] 大阪市[2] 日本取引所グループ[4] 日本取引所グループ 大阪取引所

Delivery claims and future contracts

In 1730 the shogunate authorised spot dealings in rice bills and book-entry futures in representative rice. Both involved documents but were not identical transactions. Distinguishing delivery claims from future contracts explains the coexistence of two markets.

Book-entry rice dealings used opposite trades and settlement of price differences rather than moving bales for every transaction. Expiry and clearing arrangements prevented promises simply accumulating. Prices were also linked to the spot market, connecting the book-entry system with underlying rice dealings.

Trade at Dōjima preceded authorisation in 1730 after relocation around 1697. Commercial congregation and recognised organisation were distinct; political concern with rice prices joined merchants’ trading interests.

[1] 大阪市[2] 日本取引所グループ[4] 日本取引所グループ 大阪取引所[5] 日本取引所グループ

Prices travel beyond the city

Couriers and flag signals carried Dōjima prices to other cities. Information moved as well as goods, informing decisions beyond the riverside market. Its influence depended on those communications, not only the trading location.

Trading was prohibited in 1869 and revived in 1871, rather than continuing unchanged. A widely used price reference did not guarantee equal benefits. Producers, carriers, domains and traders held different interests and bore different costs.

[2] 日本取引所グループ[4] 日本取引所グループ 大阪取引所[1] 大阪市

Before and after

  1. c. 1697

    The rice market moves from Kitahama to Dojima.

  2. 1730

    The shogunate recognises spot and futures markets.

  3. 1869

    The Meiji government prohibits trading.

  4. 1871

    Rice trading resumes in Dojima.

Key terms

Domain warehouse residence
A domain facility receiving and selling supplies such as rice.
Rice receipt
A document promising receipt of rice, including claims concerning rice not yet arrived or future harvests.
Book-entry rice futures
Book-entry dealings in future rice transactions.

What supports the account?

Different trading forms were authorised in 1730.

Osaka distinguishes spot and futures dealings.

Limits of the evidence

Do not describe both as exchanging physical bales every time.

[1] 大阪市

Check your understanding

Choose an answer to reveal the explanation. Return to the article and sources when you are unsure.

1. How do the two Dōjima transactions differ in what is traded?
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Sources

  1. Dōjima rice market site大阪市

    Authorisation in 1730, spot and futures dealings, and national prices.

  2. Dōjima rice market日本取引所グループ

    Warehouses, trading organisation, receipts and the 1869 suspension.

  3. Markets of Osaka国立国会図書館

    Changes in the market and its depiction in prints and maps.

  4. Dojima Rice Exchange日本取引所グループ 大阪取引所

    Warehouse auctions and bills, membership and clearing, courier and flag signals, prohibition and revival.

  5. Markets and securities in history, part 21日本取引所グループ

    Opposite trades, cash-difference settlement, expiry and pricing linked to the spot market.

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