日澳羊毛貿易與兼松會社早期發展之關係

Japanese Wool Trade with Australia and the Early Development of the Kanematsu Company

日本自明治維新之後，開始與西方貿易往來。多年來學界對日本的國際貿易有甚多歷史性的研究，日本與澳洲的經貿研究則較為少見。本研究即以十九世紀末期成立的日本兼松會社為例，分析日本與澳洲的早期貿易。本研究發現日本政府將羊毛界定為軍事物資，帶動了商人進口羊毛的動機，但是羊毛進口高度受政治左右，日本在華貿易特權也影響了日澳羊毛貿易的成長。稍後，羊毛貿易有限的利潤促使兼松開發其他初期產品進出口，以及擴大對華貿易。但地產增值與定價策略才是最初二十年該公司所得的主要來源。

Japan began to trade with the West at the time of the Meiji Restoration of 1868. For many years, academics have continued their research upon the history of Japanese international business. However, few took interest the Japanese trade with Australasia. This article investigates the early period of the Japanese trade with Australia, through the Kanematsu Company's operations from the late nineteenth century. The Japanese Government took the opinion that wool was a military raw material, and this promoted the growth of Japanese wool import. But the import was involved in politics. Meanwhile, the privileges of Japanese trade in China since 1896 affected the growth of Japanese wool business with Australia. Later on, Kanematsu began trading other primary products with Australia, as well as its business in China, following the limited profit of wool trade. However, this research concludes the rise of estate value and price-making strategies were the main source of income of Kanematsu in its first twenty years.