A Study of Siebold,s Economic Activities in Deshima Based on His

Transcription

Panel 3: Siebold s “Japan Museum” Plan and its “Presenting” Japan
#,
%%%#-#
+!%%#2
Yoko MATSUI
(Translated by Dylan LUERS TODA)
Introduction This paper aims to elucidate the economic basis that supported Siebold’s stay in Japan and the
formation of his collection. Siebold received funding from the government of the Dutch East Indies
in Batavia to carry out a natural history survey (Dutch: natuurkundige onderzoek) while in Japan,
and reports regarding his use of these funds remain with us today. On the other hand, it appears
that he purchased with his own money the items (besides gifts) that became part of his collection,
such as articles for everyday use, craft objects, pictures, and so on. In an appendix to a report
that he compiled before going home, he attached a summarized list (“A List of Strange and Rare
Japanese Items I [Siebold] Have Purchased and Collected for an Academic Survey at Present for the
Royal Museum”) that was divided into six categories: I. Book Collection, Maps, Woodblock Print
Illustrations, etc., II. Pictures and Sketches, III. Coined Money, IV. Tools, V. Craft Objects, and VI.
Various Items from Surrounding Countries.1 Furthermore, in a letter to his mother and uncle, he
wrote, “To the academic world I presented the offering of collecting all kinds of ethnographic articles
from this archipelago,” noting that these items, which “have a value of at least 12,000 gulden” and
cost over 20,000 gulden to purchase, were collected by “applying my assets.”2
While the salary of Siebold, who was a surgeon major, was high compared to general mercantile
employees, it was not enough to order and purchase many items. Domestically speaking, he was
certainly not affluent,3 and private trade played a significant role in procuring funds for his collection.4
Information regarding private trade̶which today basically cannot be found for normal mercantile
employees̶is scattered throughout the private documents of Siebold that remain at Ruhr University
Bochum and Brandenstein Castle. Using these documents, in this paper I will elucidate aspects of the
situation surrounding his private trade during the first time he stayed on Deshima.
It is impossible to grasp the overall image of the private trade practiced on Deshima with
only the Deshima Dutch Factory’s5 official records because this trade, including transactions with
the Japanese side, was very complicated. I think that a case study of Siebold can offer an important
concrete example for elucidating the economic activities of mercantile employees on the island as
well as the state of Japanese-Dutch trading at the time.
1. Private Trade (D: ) in the 1820s
When the Dutch East India Company had been disbanded (1799) and the Netherlands was being
thrown about in the Napoleonic Wars, Deshima trade was just barely being supported by neutral
countries’ chartered ships. However, in 1817, the Batavian East Indies government of the newly
emerged Kingdom of the Netherlands again took control of the Deshima factory, and the next year
announced the rules that would govern things to come. These included clear rules regarding private
A Study of Siebold’s Economic Activities in Deshima Based on His Account Books
327
trade, which the Batavian government wanted mercantile employees to follow.
In terms of scholarship on private trade during this time, there is NAGAZUMI Yōko’s 永積洋
子 work on the Private Trade Society of Japan (D: Particuliere Handel Societeit te Japan), which was
active from 1826 to 1830.6 From it, the following can be gathered:
① Despite various debates and complications, the Dutch East India Company decided to
allow private trade after establishing monetary limits based on the merchandise involved and
individuals’ positions. After the company’s dissolution, the subsequent East Indies government
office also adopted this policy.
② On the Japanese side, all trade in Nagasaki went through the accounting office (Nagasaki
Kaisho 長崎会所 , D: geldkamer), and from 1685 onwards trade with Dutch ships was grouped into
two categories, each with upper transaction limits: company (D: compagnie; later government or
gouvernement) cargo trade was capped at 3,000 kan, and private cambang cargo trade at 400 kan.7
③ In this framework, private trade was legal for the Dutch and Japanese side. It supplemented
the inadequate salaries of mercantile employees.
④ Chief Factor Meijlan established in 1826 the Private Trade Society. This society had i) as its
members only Deshima mercantile employees and captains of ships from Batavia, ii) a monopoly
on private trade with the approval of the Batavian government office, and iii) as its representative
in Batavia the firm Ten Brink & Reijnst. However, iv) the expectations of each of its members
varied, and as a result of the conflict that arose from this, its short life ended in 1830.
Nagazumi has analyzed the goods the society imported and exported for trade, their value, its
investors, and so on. As can be seen in Table 1, Siebold was one of its major investors.
2. Batavia Accounts
2-1) Representatives
Representatives in Europe and Batavia supported Siebold’s private economic activities. According
to the Siebold correspondence that MIYASAKA Masahide 宮坂正英 has introduced, when it was
decided in September 1822 that Siebold would go to Batavia, he signed a contract8 as a ship doctor
with Anthony van HOBOKEN,9 who was the owner of the Jonge Andriana (the ship that Siebold would
take on his voyage), and was sending money through Hoboken to his mother and uncle. From this
correspondence, it can be seen that Hoboken played the role of Siebold’s representative in Europe,
purchasing European merchandise for him, sending money to his mother and uncle, and so on.
Hoboken was a powerful ship-owner in Rotterdam who was also the owner of the Drie Gezusters,
which Siebold rode on his voyage to Japan.10 Hoboken had signed a charter ship contract with the
Netherlands Trading Company (est. 1826) and was also dispatching ships to Guangzhou.
On the other hand, regarding his representative in Batavia, Siebold wrote the following before
leaving for Japan in a 1823 letter addressed to his mother and uncle: That he would carry out the
official procedures for entrusting all rights to “a company of Hoboken’s here called Ten Brink &
Reijnst” and that “this firm will send yearly to me in Japan European merchandise, sell things I send
back in the East Indies, and receive my salary; in summary, they are going to do everything needed
for me.”11 This company was established in the fall of 1821 by Candictus TEN BRINK (who had worked
at Wijnhaven’s office in Rotterdam) with Samuel REIJNST (who had resided in Batavia) as a joint
partner. It was the exclusive representative of Hoboken in Java.12
It appears that other mercantile employees also each had their own representatives.13
Such private trade was only able to exist because of these people who were what could be called
professionals in trade transactions.
328
International Symposium Proceedings ̶ Siebold’s Vision of Japan
4
*-###
##+Particuliere Handel Societeit te Japan
1827
Invested Distributed
Amount
Amount
Shareholder Name
1828
Amount
Amount
1829
Amount
Amount
Chief Factor G. F. MEIJLAN
3,000
6,085:73
6,000
14,426:70
6,840
11,945:67
Warehouse Foreman J.F. van O. FISSCHER
4,200
8,519:96
4,900
11,781:84
800
1,397:15
Chief Clerk VAN OUTEREN
2,700
5,477:23
―
―
―
―
Doctor P.F.B. von SIEBOLD
2,000
4,057:39
3,200
7,694:13
3,480
6,077:62
Clerk C. DEPMER
1,500
3,042:96
1,800
4,358:05
1,920
3,353:17
Clerk H. GOZEMAN
1,500
3,042:96
―
―
―
―
3,353:17
Clerk A. MANUEL
1,500
3,042:96
1,800
4,358:05
1,920
Clerk V. PISTORIUS
1,500
3,042:96
1,800
4,358:05
1,920
3,353:17
Clerk C. H. de VILLENEUVE 1,500
3,042:96
1,800
4,358:05
1,920
3,353:17
Clerk H. BURGER
1,500
3,042:96
1,800
4,358:05
2,700
4,715:39
―
―
―
―
1,920
3,353:17
Clerk L. C. A. GRONOVIUS
200
405:98
250
601:13
300
523:94
Ship Captain P. H. WILLERS
3,600
7,303:19
―
―
―
―
Ship Captain J. de FRIES
3,600
7,303:19
―
―
―
―
Ship Captain G. de JONG
―
―
4,000
9,617:76
―
―
Ship Captain D. GRIM
―
―
―
―
3,600
6,287:19
Warehouse Guard H. ZUTBEEK
Ship Captain J. F. van der ZWEEP
Total
Unit: f. (gulden)
―
―
―
―
3,600
6,287:19
28,300
57,410:43
27,350
65,761:81
30,920
54,000:00
Created based on Nagazumi 1979. Supplemented with NFJ 1596, 1599.
2-2) Account books from Batavia
In the personal documents of Siebold held at the Brandenstein Castle, there are eight remaining
transaction account books (D: rekening courant) created by Ten Brink Co. spanning from 1824
to 1830 ( ① 6/25/1824, ② 6/25/1825, ③ 6/30/1826, ④ 6/30/1827, ⑤12/31/1828, ⑥ 7/14/1829, ⑦
3/4/1830, ⑧ 4/30/1830).14 The one from 1828 ( ⑤ ) can be found in Table 2. The auxiliary ledger and
related statements from the same year are shown in Table 3.
This 1828 transactional account book is a double-entry ledger that shows debit and credit.
All money amounts are recorded in gulden. On the left side is debit, where debts and expenses
are noted, as well as the amount of money that Siebold should pay. In 1828, the largest sum was
his investment in the Private Trade Society. That year, Siebold requested that Ten Brink Co. send
975.10 gulden worth of items from Batavia on the Cornelis Houtman, a breakdown of which can be
found in the K8.Fa.k.281 purchase statement (D: inkoop rekening). They were primarily alcohol (wine,
arak, geneva, etc.) medical equipment, precious stones, clothing, and so on. Some items Siebold
had requested that Hoboken send from Europe are also listed. However, the distinction between
“merchandise” to sell and articles for personal use is not clear.
Under the credit column, things given to Siebold as well as things he had the right to receive
are listed. The first line is his salary from the government office. His monthly salary was 230
gulden, on top of which was added various payments, for a total of 4,440 gulden yearly. The money
amounts here are figures arrived at after some deductions. Furthermore, some of his earnings from
the Private Trade Society are reported here (2,050.15 gulden). Next, 202 koban is listed. The same
amount was entered as credit the next year. While the details remain unclear, it appears that Siebold
thought of sending money to Europe in the form of koban.15
The last entry of the credit column is the sales account (D: verkoop rekening). In this 1828
transaction account book, the total of the K. 8. Fa. k. 279b & 280 statements, which are shown in
329
4

4%#%%#2Z#
,42Z
Rekening Courant van den Weledel Gestrenge Heer P. F. von Siebold
Debit
Credit
Aan saldo (Balance)
1828
Maart 28
Aan het Gouvernement
(Government Office)
Junij 25
Aan betaald uitgaande regten
(Export Tax)
Julij 5
Aan Diverse pr. Cornelis
Houtman
(Merchandise loaded on
Cornelius Houtman)
Julij 3
Aan Handel Societeit
(Private Trade Society)
Julij 31
Aan inkomende regten op
diverse van UEd. Ontvangen
(Import Tax of Merchandise
Received from You)
Aan betaalde door den Heer A.
van Hoboken
(Payment through Hoboken)
Aan saldo (Balance)
f.
1827
Junij 30
f.
2,421
40
1828
Maart 28
528
30
Julij 3
Pr. Van de Agenten der
Particulier Handel Societeit
(Private Trade Society
Representative)
2,050
15
1
58
Septembr.
1
Pr. 202 Goude Kobangs
(Gold Koban)
2,407
46
975
10
Decem br.
31
Pr. op 2 Verkoop rekeningen
(Two Sales Statements)
3,965
98
3,200
60
10
294
Pr. Van het Gouvernement
(Government Office)
4,233
35
5,176
46
12,656
94
12,656
94
S.E.& O
Batavia Ulto. December 1828
was get. Cands. ten Brink voor (Signed by Cands. ten Brink)
ten Brink & Reijnst (For ten Brink & Reijnst [Co.])
voor kopij konform (Regarding the certified copy)
Ten Brink, Reijnst & Gijsing (To Ten Brink, Reijnst & Gijsing [Co.])
(Created based on VBZ: K. 8. Fa. k.286i & 285)
4
)
%%#2#!
,42Z
Holding
Number
(VBZ)
330
Document Title
Notes
K8. Fa. k 279b Verkoop rekening over het restant Japansche goederen aangebragt per de Schepen Ida
Aleyda en Arenus Marinus, verkocht voor rekening van den Weledel Gestrengen Heer P.
F. von Siebold. Batavia, Ult. December 1828. (Sales Statement for the Remaining Japan
Merchandise Brought on Siebold’s Account by the Ida Aleyda and Arenus Marinus [1824].
Last Day of December 1828)
(Copied and
bound to
286k)
K8. Fa. k 280
Verkoop rekening over de volgende Japansche goederen aangebragt per de schepen de
Vasco da Gama en Jonge Elisabeth verkocht voor rekening en risico van den Weledel
Gestrenge Heer P. F. von Siebold. Batavia, Ult. December 1828. (Sales Statement for the
Remaining Japan Merchandise Brought on Siebold’s Account and at his Risk by the Basco
da Gama and Jonge Elisabeth [1825]. Last Day of December 1828)
(Copied and
bound to
286k)
K8. Fa. k 281
Inkoop rekening over het navolgende ingekocht op order en voor rekening van den Heer P. F.
von Siebold te Japan en aan ZEd. verzonden per het schip Cornelis Houtman, Kapitein De
Jong. Batavia, 5 July 1828, ten Brink & Reijnst. (Purchase Statement for the Merchandise
Sent per Siebold’s Order and on his Account by Captain de Jong’s Cornelis Houtman. July
5th, 1828) K8. Fa. k 282
Nota van diverse Japansche goederen toebehorende aan den Weled. Gestrenge Heer P. F.
von Siebold te Japan, en overgegeven aan de Heeren ten Brink Reynst & Gijsing. Batavia,
Ult. December 1828. (Notes Regarding Various Japan Merchandise Owned by Siebold in
Japan and Delivered to Ten Brink Co. Last Day of December 1828)
K8. Fa. k 285
Rekening Courant van den Weledel Gestr. Heer P. F. von. Siebold Batavia, Ulto. December
1828, ten Brink, Reynst & Gijsing. (Sieobld’s Account Book. Last Day of December 1828)
(Copied to
286i)
Table 3, are reported. As can be seen by the title, in 279b and 280 we respectively find merchandise
that Siebold purchased at his own expense and sent from Japan to Batavia in 1824 on the Ida Aleyda
and Arenus Marinus, and in 1825 on the Vasco da Gama and Jonge Elisabeth. Both appear to be
cases of him having unsold goods be sold off in Semarang and Surabaya.
In this way, Siebold’s account earnings and expenses were calculated by Ten Brink Co. and
every year before a ship left for Japan an account book was created and sent to Siebold in Deshima.
3. Deshima Accounts
3-1) Records of Siebold’s Exchange of Money and Items on Deshima
In Japan, since there was no representative who managed Siebold’s purchases and accounts as a
whole, Siebold recorded and controlled them. However, nothing remains like a basic ledger from
which one can understand the whole picture of his earnings and expenses. The ledger format
documents I have been able to look over that include some earnings and expenses are shown in
Table 4. While there are several other attached statements and notes, the total structure of his
account system remains unclear. The “1827/28 Transaction Account Book” (Rekening courant pro
1827/28 ; K8. Fa.f.194) in Table 4 presents somewhat of an overall picture. While the title says 1827
and 1828, entries in fact continue until the end of 1829, when Siebold left Japan. This ledger is in
a double-entry format. However, the numbers listed under “debit” and “credit” do not balance and
there are signs that it was being copied over to another ledger. It appears that it was in the midst of
being organized. It uses both tael and gulden as units. Both K8. Fa. c. 104 and Fa. f. 192 are similar
ledgers, however their relationship can be seen in only a few of their sections.
In these ledgers, the results of Siebold’s sales in Japan do not appear in an organized fashion.
Transactions carried out through the Nagasaki Kaisho that fell under the wakini category are
included in the cambang account (D: cambang rekening) as cambang money (D: cambanggeld),
and they should be balanced by purchases of daily items and merchandise for export. However,
Siebold did not list anything in this regard. On the other hand, in the transactions with people who
have accounts in these ledgers, dictionaries as well as “merchandise” (D: negotie goederen) and
“exchange” (D: ruiling) are listed. From this it can be surmised that Siebold engaged in private sales
that did not go through the Nagasaki Kaisho. However, the overall flow of these sales is unclear.
Further investigation is required to determine whether or not this was officially approved or tacitly
permitted.
At the end of the credit column of some Japanese people’s accounts, one finds the word
“verloren,” or loss. It appears that with many people who had been dealing with Siebold being
4
/
Rekening Boeken(
Holding Number
(VBZ)
Title
K8. Fa. c. 104
(No Title) [Rekening Boek door Von Siebold 1825-1829] (Siebold’s Cashbook)
K8. Fa. c. 106~108
Bijlage 1∼3 (Statements Attached to 104 Above)
K8. Fa. f. 192
(No Title) [Rekening Boek door Von Siebold 1829] (Siebold’s Cashbook)
K8. Fa. f. 194
Rekening Courant pro 1827/28 Dr. von Siebold (Siebold’s Account Book)
331
affected by the Siebold incident, there was a considerable amount of irrecoverable debts and prepaid
orders.
3-2）Transaction Partners
Table 5 shows those in Japan with whom Siebold engaged in transactions and who had accounts in
his account books.16 On the Dutch side, the East Indies government office, Ten Brink Co., Private
Trade Society, Chief Factor Meijlan, mercantile employees Burger, De Villeneuve, Pistorius, and
Depmer, as well as Kollman and Fritze（former classmates of Siebold who were working as doctors
in Batavia）appear.17
The following people are listed from the Japan side: three doctors who appear to be Siebold’s
disciples, one compradoor, thirteen interpreters（tolk; including one unofficial interpreter）, and a
“cambang commissarissen”（interpreters in charge of wakini）.18 For the latter, there is only a job
title and no individual name.
Cambang commissarissen handled cambang account transactions. In this account are listed
payments to compradoor, carpenters, the painter Toyosuke, etc., as well as cambang account
4
4+%%#
-#%%#2
Account Names
Het Gouvernement (Batavia Government Office)
Ten Brink en Rijnst te Batavia (Ten Brink Co.)
De Particuliere Handel Societeit (Private Trade Society)
Meylan (Chief Factor)
De Villeneuve (Mercantile Employee)
Burger (Mercantile Employee)
Pistorius (Mercantile Employee)
Depmer (Mercantile Employee)
Mevrouw A. von Siebold geboren Lotz (Siebold’ s Mother)
Dr. med. Fritze te Batavia (Doctor in Batavia)
Dr. med Kollmann te Batavia (Doctor in Batavia)
Kambang Commissarissen (Interpreter in charge of wakini 脇荷掛通詞 )
Tolk Inabe Itsikuro (INABE Ichigorō 稲部市五郎 , Provisional junior-interpreter 小通詞末席 )
Tolk Kinsaimon (MORIYAMA Kinzaemon/Genzaemon 森山金 / 源左衛門, Vice junior-interpreter 小通詞並？ )★
Tolk Tojokes (ARAKI Toyokichi 荒木豊吉 , Disciple of apprentice-interpreter 稽古通詞見習 )
De Doktor Minato T/Jooan te Jedo (MINATO Chōan 湊長安 , doctor in Edo)
De Oppertolk (N.) Sak’ sabro (NAKAYAMA Sakusaburō 中山作三郎 , Senior-interpreter 大通詞 )
Doktor Koo Tsai te Oosaka (Unknown. Doctor in Osaka)
De Dokter Dats moto Kagoo te Oosaka (Unknown. Doctor in Osaka)
De Oppertolk Sensaimon (SUENAGA Jinzaemon 末永甚左衛門 , Senior-interpreter 大通詞 )
Tolk Sansiro (te Jedo) (NAMURA Sanjirō 名村三次郎 , Ranked equally to vice junior-interpreter 小通詞並格 and working at
the Astronomical Observatory in Edo 天文台詰 )
De Oppertolk Gonoske (YOSHIO Gonnosuke 吉雄権之助 , Disciple of senior-interpreter 大通詞見習 ) ★
De Tolk Tsoesiro (YOSHIO Chūjirō 吉雄忠次郎 , Temporary junior-interpreter 小通詞助 )
De Oppercompratoor Jesju (Upper comprador 上コンプラドール Jesju <FUJIYOSHI Eijū 藤吉栄重？ *1>
Tolk Noosiro (IMAMURA Naoshirō 今村猶四郎 , Junior-interpreter 小通詞 )
Dienaar Toda (Servant Toda <KIKUYA Tōta 菊谷藤太？, Disciple of head of unofficial interpreters 内通詞小頭見習 *2>)
Tolk Noonoske (MATSUMURA Naonosuke 松村直之助 , Head of unofficial interpreters 内通詞小頭？ ) ★
Tolk Hidetaro (TATEISHI Hidetarō 立石秀太郎 , Ranked equally to vice junior-interpreter 小通詞並格 ) ★
Sensiro (HORI Senjirō 堀専次郎 , Ranked equally to vice junior-interpreter 小通詞並格 ) ★
Created based on VBZ: K8. Fa. c.104, Fa. f. 192, Fa. f. 194 Individuals with ★ next to their name are also listed as a transaction partner of Private Trade Society.
Interpreter job classes are based on the Status Record (bungenchō 分限帳 ) ca. 1828.
Regarding *1 and *2, see endnote 16.
332
transactions with individual Japanese and Dutch people.
Nagazumi points out eleven interpreters who carried out transactions with the Private Trade
Society. Half of them also listed as Siebold’s transaction partners. But other interpreters with whom
Siebold had a close relationship are listed as well.
For example, Siebold had provided 476 tael worth of items to INABE Ichigorō 稲部市五郎 ,
including medicine, arak, and geneva, and lent him a total of 271.5 tael. For this total of 747.5 tael,
Siebold writes in K8.Fa.c.104, “I will give the children of Ichigorō as a gift the total of 747 tael that
I entrusted to him for my child Oine おいね.” On the other hand, in Fa.f.194, he writes regarding
the December 1827 “Various Transacted Merchandise-200 tael ” he had given to Ichigorō that
“this money is for my child Oine, and the debtor will begin paying yearly starting on December
1st, 1828 12% interest.” It appears that while Siebold had originally entrusted merchandise when
heading home to Ichigorō for Oine’s upbringing, he then chose to send the sum of Ichigorō’s debt to
Ichigorō’s children, who had gotten wrapped up in the “Siebold incident.”
To Y OSHIO Chūjirō 吉雄忠次郎 Siebold had provided Weylandt’s dictionary and various
merchandise equivalent to 807 tael, and asked for a set of carpentry tools (26 tael), a set of male and
female wigs (32 tael), as well as various paintings (130 tael). However, he had not yet received any of
them.19 Regarding the money he had provided, Siebold stated, “The debtor has been absolved.”20
TATEISHI Hidetarō 立石秀太郎 had also purchased a considerable amount of merchandise from
the Private Trade Society. Siebold had also given him the equivalent of 525 tael of various goods,
and engaged in a considerable amount of other cambang account transactions with him as well. On
the other hand it appears that Siebold had through Hidetarō given money to multiple individuals,
including Sonogi (Oine’s mother) and Sonogi’s father.
Furthermore, Siebold provided the servant (D: dienaar) Toda21 with the equivalent of 158
tael of surgical instruments (D: heelkundige instrumenten), and received from Toda 11 pictures by
“Hoksai” 北斎 worth 75 tael as well as old coins worth 6.5 tael. Siebold also writes regarding “Toda”
that “some pictures are held at his place; Kesak22 knows about this.”23
Comparatively lower-class interpreters such as vice-junior-interpreters, provisional
apprentice-interpreters, heads of unofficial interpreters, their disciples, and so on came into close
contact with Siebold. While working and helping Siebold form his collection, they obtained various
items from him, probably acting as intermediaries and privately selling items.
Between mercantile employees themselves as well as the Japanese people they interacted
with, there are many reports of cash and cambang account lending and borrowing, as well as reports
that only list advance payment amounts. From these, the concrete movement of things cannot be
directly determined. Nevertheless, it appears that it was in this very environment in which money
and things were frequently exchanged between individuals that Siebold easily could request that
items he was collecting be procured.
4. Earnings and Expenses in Siebold’s Transactions
Drawing from the above Batavia and Japan accounting records, I have shown in Table 6 the purchase
prices of the merchandise that was sent to Japan for Siebold to sell as well as the selling prices of
the merchandise Siebold sent from Japan. The overall amount Siebold invested in merchandise for
Japan was 32,356.79 gulden: the total purchase price of the merchandise sent to Japan was 23,676.79
gulden, and he invested 8,680 gulden in the Private Trade Society over the course of three years.24
Looking at Siebold’s 1826 correspondence, it appears that all of the items he had requested his
333
mother and uncle to send the previous
4

s Transactions
year were disappointing. Similarly, the
price of the general merchandise (excluding
books and medical equipment; e.g., saffron
Year
Purchase Amount of
Products for Japan
(Inkoop voor Japan)
Japan Merchandise Sales Amount
(Verkoop van Japanse Goederen)
1823
4,558:00
2,420:26
1824
8,598:04
1,682:02
1825
6,273:28
3,453:76
1826
4,247:47
*1,284:80
information regarding marketable goods
1827
2,000:00
？
that Siebold had was easily obtainable, and
1828
3,200:00
3,965:98
since other people had also ordered them
1829
3,480:00
2,522:94
in large quantities, their prices collapsed.
total
32,356:79
15,329:76
and gold patterned thin leather) he had
requested from Ten Brink and Hoboken
had fell, and he did not make a profit.25 The
This situation was one of the reasons
for the establishment of the Private
Trade society. While it was in existence,
it appears that Siebold refrained from
purchasing merchandise as an individual
Unit: f. (gulden)
Purchase amount: Created based on entries at the end of: K8.Fa.f.194.
1827 to 1829 purchase amounts are the amounts invested in the Private
Trade Society (Table 1)．
Sales amount: Extracted from the following historical documents: B17 Fa. a.
92, 93, 94,103, K8. Fa. g. 203, 275f. 286i, 286b.
*According to B17 Fa. a. 109b, f. 1284 .20.
because Ten Brink Co. was the society’s
representative.26
The invoiced value of the merchandise he sent out of Japan in 1824 was 10,055 gulden, and
6,049 gulden in 1825.27 However, as previously mentioned, the merchandise he sent to Batavia in
both years remained unsold. In 1828 this merchandise was sold off in Sumatra and Surabaya, also
located on Java. Siebold had to recognize that his first two years of exporting Japanese merchandise
were a failure. He states that he subsequently decided to not send back cargo worth more than
5,000 gulden, as well as leave all decisions including purchasing and buying to Ten Brink Co.28 The
list of Japanese products he sent in 1828 to Batavia which remains with us today (K8. Fa. k. 282)
indicates that he probably individually exported items from Japan while the society was in existence.
However, the monetary amounts of such items are not recorded. While his sales of Japanese
merchandise on Java was the highest in 1828 (when he sold off items carried over from previous
years), even then it did not exceed 4,000 gulden.
The sum of the total price of the merchandise he purchased in Batavia and sold in Japan as
well as the Japanese merchandise he purchased are not shown in these accounting records. For
this reason, in the end we cannot establish the extent of Siebold’s profit or loss. However, there
are no signs that Siebold made a remarkable profit in his personal trade endeavors of selling
merchandise he had brought to Japan and of selling merchandise in Batavia and Java that he had
obtained in Japan. In 1823, he said he could save 6,000 (or, if things went well, 8,000) gulden,29 and
in 1824, he wrote that the “economic situation is tip-top”30 and if the ship filled with the 12,000
gulden worth of merchandise he sent arrives safely from Japan, he’ll be able to send 10,000 gulden
to his mother and uncle.31 However, perhaps reflecting a lack of remarkable profit, these somewhat
megalomaniacal expectations of high profits seen in his letters gradually go away. In a letter from
the next year dated December 26th, 1827 that announces his return home, he simply states, “The
economic situation is so-so, and I am expecting to have 20,000 gulden in assets when departing from
Japan.”32 In subsequent correspondence he does not touch upon private trade at all, and repeatedly
discusses just the 4,500 gulden yearly salary that he is supposed to be paid by the Dutch East Indies
government office.
While the Private Trade Society was active, Siebold invested in it as a member, making a profit
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of 9,148 gulden. One might in fact be able to say that Siebold’s collection indirectly benefited from
the society, which ended its activities in just three years.
Conclusion
It is no mistake that the rose-colored dream first held by Siebold did not go as expected, especially
in terms of economic activities. It appears that this excellent scholar could not become a tough
merchant. Even so, there was an environment in which many mercantile employees found it a
matter of course to engage in private trade, exchanging things and money with the Japanese people
who had access to Deshima. Furthermore, Siebold benefitting from the Private Trade Society in
Japan made possible the formation of his tremendous collection, for which he “applied his assets.”
As can be seen in his exchange of goods and money while in Japan, his transactions and the
formation of his collection were two inseparable sides of the single daily endeavor of exchange.
#
1 KURIHARA Fukuya 栗原福也 ed. & trans., Shiiboruto no Nihon hżkoku シーボルトの日本報告 [Siebold’s
Japan Reports] (Tōyō Bunko 784, Heibonsha, 2009), pp. 293-299.
2 Siebold-related texts held by the Bradenstein family (Brandenstein-Archiv; hereafter VBZ). Translations
of some letters can be found in MIYASAKA Masahide 宮坂正英 , Bernd NEUMANN, and ISHIKAWA Mitsunobu
石川光庸 trans., “Fon Burandenshutain ke shozō Shiiboruto kankei shorui shokan no honkoku narabi
ni honyaku” フォン・ブランデンシュタイン家所蔵シーボルト関係書類書簡の翻刻ならびに翻訳
[Reprint and Translation of the Siebold Documents and Correspondence Held by the von Brandenstein
Family] (Nagasaki-shi Shiiboruto kinenkan 長崎市シーボルト記念館 [City of Nagasaki’s Siebold Memorial
Museum] Narutaki kiyż 鳴滝紀要 [Narutaki Bulletin] 11-21 (2001-2011)). The numbering used in below
citations are the ones found in this reprint / translation. VBZ: B.13.Fa.b.313 (Miyasaka vol. 19, no. 59A, p.46),
B.13.Fa.b.308 (vol. 19, no. 59B, p. 46). Regarding the purchase expense of 20000 gulden, see VBZ: B.13.
Fa.b.314 & 315 (vol. 19, no. 60A & B, p. 50) and VBZ: B.13.Fa.b.317 (vol. 19, no. 61, p. 52).
３ For example, in the letter addressed to his mother and Uncle Lotz dated March 18th, 1823 (VBZ: B.13.
Fa.b.284 (vol. 13, no. 26, p. 105)), the issue of household finances discussed: “I was no longer able to watch
our family’s name and financial situation sink lower than that.”
4 The importance of Siebold’s private trade has also been pointed out previous scholarship. See Miyasaka vol.
16, pp. 28-29 and Kurihara 2009, pp. 351-355.
5 Factory means a trading post. The documents called Nederlandse Factorij in Japan (hereafter NFJ) are held
in the Nationaal Archief in the Hague.
6 NAGAZUMI Yōko 永積洋子 “Oranda shōkan no wakini bōeki nitsuite: shōkanchō Meiran no setsuritsu shita
kojin bōeki kyōkai (1826-1830 nen)” オランダ商館の脇荷貿易について―商館長メイランの設立した個
人貿易協会 ( 一八二六−一八三〇年 ) (Nihon rekishi 日本歴史 [Japanese History] 379, pp. 55-90, 1979).
English translation: “Personal Trade at the Dutch Factory in Japan: The Trade Society Organized by Chief
Factor Meijlan (1826-1830)” (The Memoirs of the Toyo Bunko no. 66, 2008).
7 The Dutch residents at that time called these categories compagnies / gouvernement and cambang,
respectively. On the Japanese side they were referred to as motokata 本方 and wakini脇荷. However, these
Japanese terms referred to different accounting categories that had different tax and currency exchange
rates; they did not always match the cargo owner classifications. In order to avoid confusion, in this paper I
will only use these terms as Japanese-side accounting categories.
8 VBZ: B.13.Fa.b.274 (Miyasaka vol. 12, no. 21, p. 91).
9 I would like to express my gratitude to Harm BEUKERS for sharing various information with me regarding
Hoboken at The Seventh International Siebold Collection Conference, which was held by Siebold Huis
(Leiden) and the National Museum of Ethnology (Leiden) from October 16th to 18th, 2013.
10 Bram OOSTERWIJK, Koning van de koopvaart: Anthony van Hoboken (1756-1850) Amsterdam: De Bataafsche
Leeuw, 1996, p.120.
11 VBZ: B.13.Fa.b.287, 288 (Miyasaka vol. 13, no. 29, p. 112; no. 30, p. 115).
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12 Oosterwijk 1996, p. 121-122. Subsequently, in 1828 Ten Brink returned home, and Maximiliaan REIJNST
and Gradus GIJSING took over his duties. While the company name then changed to “Ten Brink, Reijnst en
Gijsing” (VBZ: K8.Fa.k.282), to avoid confusion, in this paper regardless of the period I will refer to it as
Ten Brink Co.
13 VBZ: K8. Fa. d. 158c (Miyasaka vol. 20, no. 63, p. 35).
14 VBZ: ① K8. Fa. g. 203, ② K8. Fa. k. 275f, ③ B. 17. Fa. a. 92, ④ B. 17. Fa. a. 93, ⑤ K8. Fa. k. 286i & 285, ⑥
K8. Fa. k. 286h & 291, ⑦ K8. Fa. k. 286e, ⑧ K8. Fa. k. 286b.
15 VBZ: B. 17. Fa. a. 100; B. 17. Fa. b. 304 (Miyasaka vol. 18, no. 57, p. 55; no. 58a, p. 59). Koban often appears
in the ledgers of his transactions in Japan.
16 For the interpreters listed in Table 5, I used the “Status Record” (bungenchż 分限帳) (Nagasaki Museum
of History and Culture 14-296-1; ca. 1828). With regard to Oppercompratoor Jesju, it is possible that it is
FUJIYOSHI Eijū 藤吉栄重, whose signature is found in the November 9th, 1830 signatures of konpura nakama
(NFJ1943 Protocol no. 1 (old number: Aanwinsten 1910-Ⅰ, no. 389; Historiographical Institute, University
of Tokyo, Microfilm no. 6998-1-138-1, Historiographical Institute Photo Album 7598-106-4) KANAI Madoka
金井圓 Nichiran kżshżshi no kenkyƈ 日蘭交渉史の研究 [Research on the History of Dutch-Japanese
Relations] (Shibunkaku 1986) p. 416). With regard to Dienaar Toda, it is possible that it is KIKUYA Tōta 菊谷
藤太 a “disciple of a head of unofficial interpreters” (naitsƈji kogashira minarai 内通詞小頭見習). Kikuya
is listed in the “Law Reports Book” (hankachż 犯科帳; vol. 107 of MORINAGA Taneo 森永種夫 ed., Nagasaki
bugyżsho hanketsu kiroku hankachż 長崎奉行所判決記録犯科帳 [Record of Rulings of the Nagasaki
Magistrate’s Office: Law Reports Book] no. 8, p. 33) as someone punished with house arrest (oshikome 押
込 ) after the Siebold incident.
17 Georg Joseph KOLLMANN wrote three letters while in Buitenzorg, Java to Siebold: VBZ: B. 13. Fa. e. 379
(Miyasaka vol.17, no. 54), VBZ: B. 13. Fa. f. 397 (Miyasaka vol. 17, no. 55), and VBZ: B. 15. b. Fa. l. 83
(Miyasaka vol. 21, no. 69). No. 69 mentions the “Health Bureau’s Head Medical Officer” Dr. Fritze (vol. 21,
p. 94).
18 In Japanese compradoor were called kaimono tsukai 買物使, and shoshiki urikomi nin 諸色売込人
depending on the time period. They presided over the procurement of daily use items and privately
purchased items (MATSUI Yoko, “The Factory and the People of Nagasaki: Otona, Tolk, Compradoor”
(Itinerario, Vol. xxxvii, no. 3, Special Issue: Canton and Nagasaki Compared, Leiden 2013).
19 VBZ: K8. Fa.f.194.
20 VBZ: K8.Fa.c.104.
21 KIKUYA Tōta? See note 16. 22 NINOMIYA Keisaku 二宮敬作 ?
23 VBZ: K8. Fa. c. 104.
24 While K8. Fa. f. 192 lists Siebold’s 1829 investment in the society as f. 3,482.40, here I have used the f.
3,480.00 figure found in the Deshima Dutch Factory document NFJ1596, which Nagazumi uses as well.
25 VBZ: B. 13. Fa. b. 304 (Miyasaka vol.18, no. 58a, p. 58); B. 15. Fa. a. 124 (Miyasaka vol. 20, no. 64, p. 36).
26 VBZ: B. 15. Fa. a. 124 (Miyasaka vol. 20, no. 64, pp. 36-37).
27 VBZ: K8. Fa. f. 194.
28 VBZ: K8. Fa. d. 158c (Miyasaka vol. 20, no. 63, p. 34-35).
29 VBZ: B. 13. Fa. b. 291 (Miyasaka vol. 14, no. 31, p. 38).
32 VBZ: B. 13. Fa. b. 308 (Miyasaka vol. 19, no. 59b, p. 47).
Note: Isabel TANAKA-VAN DAALEN helped me translate Dutch-language historical documents, and ISHIDA Chihiro
石田千尋 assisted me in understanding ledgers. I would like to express my thanks to both of them.
(Historiographical Institute, The University of Tokyo)
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