Mitsui Bussan and the Manchurian soybean trade

Geopolitics and economic strategies in China’s Northeast, ca. 1870s–1920s

Bibliographic Data

ID8419672
AuthorsHiromi Mizuno (University of Minnesota), Ines Prodöhl (0000-0003-0119-9739, Department of Archaeology, History, Cultural Studies and Religion, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway, corresponding author)
Year2023
Volume65
Issue5
Pages880-901
Publication date2023-07-04
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueBusiness History (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0007-6791 • E-ISSN: 1743-7938
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/00076791.2019.1687688
OpenAlexW2993172738
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited31

This article examines how soybeans became a global commodity, by focusing on the intermediary role of the Japanese trading company Mitsui Bussan. In the early twentieth century, soybeans were almost exclusively grown in Northeast China, also known as Manchuria. Their global commodification was a result of complex imperial rivalries among China, Japan, and Russia in northeast China as well as the rapid rise of vegetable oil consumption in Europe. We demonstrate how Mitsui Bussan navigated the shifting geopolitical terrain by taking advantage of the competition between the Russian and Japanese empires, utilizing Chinese middlemen effectively, and securing support from the Japanese government and military. By placing the soybean trade in a geopolitical context, we shed light on how global commodity markets, trade, and international relations were intertwined

China · Commodification · Commodity · Competition (biology · Consumption (sociology · Context (archaeology · Economic history · Economics · Economy · Geography · Geopolitics · Government (linguistics · International trade · Market economy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Colonialism, slavery, and trade · Historical Studies and Socio-cultural Analysis · Japanese History and Culture

Tools

Open DOISci-Hub