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Finite-resource-awareness

Even in early 1600’s Japanese thinkers understood difference between what could be created (sugar, silk) vs finite resources that could only be extracted (Copper, Silver etc).

This led them to differentiate between essentials (salt) vs luxuries (sugar). Policy was to curb imports of luxuries like silk& sugar while figuring out how to produce them in Japan so that precious Japanese metal would stop enriching foreigners (especially the Xtians/West). A central concern in the rise of kokueki 国益(national interest) thought in 1700’s.

Heisuke’s daughter Makuzu picked up this argument with much vigor: “How shameful to be looked down upon by people of other countries for the shallow outlook that leads us to trade copper that lasts for ten thousand generations for sugar that melts when you lick it.”

Ppl think that Japan was always poor in natural resources, not so in Tokugawa era when it was mining & supplying large quantities of gold, silver, & copper for world market. Mines were all eventually exhausted.