Japanese missions to Ming China

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Japanese missions to Ming China show how China and Japan related from the 15th to the 17th centuries. Their contacts included political respect, ceremonial exchanges, and cultural sharing, with trade growing alongside diplomacy. Nineteen trade missions traveled from Japan to China between 1401 and 1547. Japan mainly exported swords, copper, and sulfur; China exported copper coins, raw silk, and silk fabrics. Each mission was led by a Zen Buddhist monk from Kyoto’s famous temples (Nanzen-ji, Tenryū-ji, Shōkoku-ji, Kennin-ji, Tōfuku-ji, and sometimes Manju-ji). The tally trade system, organized by the Chinese, controlled commerce. The Chinese tally was a certificate that allowed trade; the first 100 tallies were sent to Japan in 1404. Only missions with a valid tally could travel and trade in China, and only those with authentic tallies were received as ambassadors. Over time, the tally trade rules expanded beyond their initial limits.