24 : Key Provisions of the Agreement among Shipping Agents

The rulebook adopted by the association of shipping agents—kept as an agreement ledger (mōshi-awase-chō)—records the covenants binding its members. Articles 1 and 2 state, respectively, that written orders and agreements must be faithfully observed, and that rice dues—tax obligations rendered in rice—as well as official consignments for the domain lord (daimyō) or the shogunate are to be handled with special care. Taken together, these provisions show that social order was maintained under the authority of the shogunate and the domain lord, and that port operations and commerce rested on clearly articulated, rigorously enforced norms.

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