The final formation of the "closed country" policy
The Japanese "drifters" are a special historical product of the Tokugawa shogunate. Following Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Tokugawa Ieyasu ruled Japan through the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600.
From 1633 (the 10th year of Kanei) to 1639 (16th year of Kanei), Tokugawa Iemitsu issued the "Lockdown Decree" five times, which became a symbol of Japan's entry into the "Lockdown Era".
However, the "seclusion" of the Tokugawa period did not mean that Japan completely severed ties with foreign countries, but only that the shogunate completely controlled foreign exchanges and controlled foreign exchanges in Nagasaki, a limited "window".
At the same time, the "lockdown of the country" was also a product of the shogunate's increasing policy of banning religion, that is, after choosing Buddhism as a foreign religious culture, it made a second choice against other foreign cultures.
Because the Catholic faith and doctrine did not conform to the foundation of the shogunate, for example, the Catholic Church believed in the supremacy of God and equality before God, and the Catholics were opposed to the pagans, denying the combination of Shinto and Buddhism.
The idea that God is the lord of heaven and earth and that people should obey God rather than obey their parents, masters, and rulers completely violated the shogunate system, which had a strict hierarchy and the shogun as the supreme authority.
In order to establish absolute rule, the shogunate that unified Japan began to unify the mainstream ideology of society, introducing a large number of Chinese neo-Confucianism.
At the same time, the shogunate issued five foreign prohibitions in 1633, 1634, 1635, 1636, and 1639, each new one stricter than the previous one.
For example, in 1633, "no ship other than a chartered ship shall go to sea, and Japanese nationals shall not be allowed to leave the country except for chartered ships, and violators shall be sentenced to death."
In 1636, it was forbidden to transport Japanese ships and Japanese nationals to foreign countries, and Japanese nationals who were already living abroad were "sentenced to death if they returned to Japan."
After the outbreak of the Shimabara Rebellion in 1639, the shogunate issued a final ban: "People from other countries were forbidden to come to Japan, except for merchants from China, Korea, and the Netherlands, who were allowed to conduct limited trade in Nagasaki."
In order to restore the economic order and abnormal foreign relations destroyed by the war of aggression in the Toyotomi Hideyoshi era and the unified Japan, Tokugawa Ieyasu pursued a relatively peaceful and friendly free trade policy.
But this policy of liberalizing the development of trade soon came into sharp contradiction with the basic policies of the shogunate system, which first required strict restrictions on the spread of Christianity in order to strengthen the lord's control over the peasants.
Second, it was necessary to eliminate trade activities controlled by merchant families and feudal lords in order to control the national market and achieve a direct monopoly of the shogunate.
As a result, from 1630 to 1640, the shogunate adjusted its trade policy from Tokugawa Ieyasu to Tokugawa Hidetada, and then to the third shogun, Tokugawa Iemitsu.
It can be divided into three periods: first, the departure and return of Japanese nationals were prohibited, second, Portuguese and foreign ships were prohibited from coming to Japan, and third, only Dutch, Chinese, and Korean ships were allowed to come to Japan, but free movement was prohibited.
During this period, access to information from abroad was limited to the Dutch trading post and Nagasaki's Chinatown. At this point, the "lock-up system", which is rare in the world, finally took shape in Japan.
The boom of maritime transport and the occurrence of accidents
Since the shogunate forbade Japanese ships to go to sea, the feudal lords were not allowed to build ships of more than 500 koku. As a result, Japanese merchants began to conduct domestic trade on the coastal routes after being banned from trading with foreign countries.
At the beginning of the 17th century, shipping in Japan was carried out by merchants in the main ports along the coast of the Sea of Japan.
These merchants owned many ships and often transported goods from the north, such as Niigata, Sakata, and Akita, to Kyoto and other regions.
Known as the "Kitamae Boats", these ships used wood and cotton to make sails and rudders and were very sturdy in texture, but sailed slowly.
With the development of the domestic commodity economy, Saigoku ships (sailing ships on the Seto Inland Sea side and Osaka side) replaced Hokugoku ships.
In the mid-17th century, Japan's coastal shipping routes underwent revolutionary development.
Edo merchant Mizuken Kawamura opened a route from Alabin to the Pacific Ocean in the east, and from Sakata to the Sea of Japan in the west, and then to Edo, which was basically formed at the end of the 1670-1672 (Kanbun period).
The West Coast Route is Japan's first route connecting the Seto Inland Sea with Osaka and Edo, and is the most developed coastal shipping route in Japan.
Later, with the development of shipping, the shipping ships also changed, and after the Kitamae ship, which was dominant in the early 17th century, a new type of Kitamae ship dominated shipping.
These ships were powered by sails (large, sturdy, made of thick wire) and could carry 500-1200 stone cargo and 10-20 crew members, far exceeding the carrying capacity of the previous ships, which provided the conditions for the prosperity of the domestic seafaring trade.
Not only that, but as an island nation, Japan has developed maritime transportation since ancient times, and not only domestic but also international routes have been opened.
In ancient Japan, in the early Heian period, there were envoys to the Tang Dynasty, and in the Middle Ages, the yen and Nimei trade flourished, and in the early modern period, the trade of seals and seals appeared, and it was natural that this kind of ocean voyage required a high level of maritime and shipbuilding skills.
Although the period of lockdown was limited to coastal navigation, due to the large number of ships sailing and the long routes, many maritime accidents occurred, the so-called "unbreakable" and "broken ships".
Moreover, Japan has strong northwest winds in winter, monsoons and typhoons in spring and summer, making coastal navigation more difficult and dangerous.
Not only that, but because it is powered by sails, when it encounters a storm at sea, it can only let the ship drift with the wind.
The impact of "locking off the country" on the "drifters".
One of the effects of the "Lockdown" policy on the phenomenon of "drifters" was that, firstly, the implementation of the "Lockdown" policy led to a decrease in exchanges and conflicts between Japan and other countries, and hindered the development of shipping and shipbuilding technology necessary for navigation.
Therefore, when fishermen and merchants go out to sea to fish or trade, they are more likely to have accidents, be blown off their original routes by the sea breeze and waves, and drift to other countries or regions.
Second, in order to enforce the "Lockdown Order", the shogunate strictly limited the scale of shipbuilding for Japanese citizens. The Samurai Law clearly stated that feudal lords were not allowed to build ships with a load of more than 500 stones.
In 1638, the shogunate decreed a ban on the construction of large ships other than cargo ships. As a result, most privately owned vessels can only be small and medium-sized vessels suitable for sailing along the coast.
These vessels are simple in structure, small in tonnage, susceptible to wind and waves, and prone to shipwrecks if they encounter storms on long voyages.
The limitation of the scale of shipbuilding and the demand for large ships due to economic development created a great contradiction, and merchants who made a living from trading along the coast of Japan had to use small boats to carry large quantities of grain and goods to sea, resulting in frequent shipwrecks.
Secondly, the emergence of "drifters" is also related to the geographical, oceanic, and climatic conditions in which the Japanese archipelago is located. Japan is a country surrounded by the sea, and the climate and climate of the surrounding oceans are complex.
In particular, the northwest monsoon prevails in the North Pacific region, including the coast of the Sea of Japan, from October to January of the following year, during which the Pacific Kuroshio Currents flow along the coasts of Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu, and ships sailing in the Seto Inland Sea and outside the archipelago of Japan are often affected by this harsh marine climate and are prone to drifting to other countries and regions.
Finally, from the perspective of the development of world history, the 15th century was a turning point in the development of human civilization.
The opening of new shipping routes expanded the international space of Western countries, widened the radius of human activity, enabled whaling ships and merchant ships to sail farther afield, and gave Japanese "drifters" in distress the opportunity to be rescued and returned to Japan.
Since the end of the 17th century, there has been a gradual increase in the number of records of Japanese "drifters".