Tobacco in Japan

No one knows precisely when tobacco first reached Japan’s shores. Nevertheless, it was not until the last quarter of the sixteenth century that significant commercial quantities of tobacco were imported into the country—a practice almost certainly pioneered by Spanish or Portuguese traders. The local populace took to Nicotiana tabacum rapidly, despite early attempts by the Shogunate to curb both its use and production. Japanese farmers began to grow the plant domestically by the turn of the seventeenth century, and it quickly became become one of the most popular luxury goods in Japan. The introduction of machinery for use in the production of tobacco products marks one of the earliest steps toward the general industrialisation of Japan, and the introduction of the principle of mass-production in other industries. Traditional artisans were also able to take advantage of the surge in demand for tobacco, however. An entire industry developed around the production of ornate pipes, pipe cases, ashtrays, storage boxes, and other paraphernalia.

The eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries represent the ‘golden age’ of pipe smoking in Japan, with the Shogun himself openly smoking his various kiseru. The use of tobacco had become widespread in Japanese society, and a pipe was likely to be encountered in the hands of a rural farmer as a wealthy nobleman in Kyoto. Following the Meiji Restoration of 1868, Japan began a process of Westernisation and rapid industrialisation. As a result, a variety of new tobacco products from Europe and the United States entered Japan, the most important of which was the mass-produced cigarette. The first importations of machinery for cigarette production occasioned a boom in tobacco farming, as well as the formation of the first indigenous cigarette manufacturing companies. Cigarette production soon became a very lucrative enterprise in the new Empire of

Japan. The most famous Japanese tobacco baron of the period was Murai Kichibei, the president of the Murai Brothers company. Known in Japan as the ‘King of Tobacco’, Murai was able to expand his business in Japan and internationally through a shrewd strategy which saw him launch takeovers of rival manufactures whilst seeking outside investment from an American tobacco conglomerate.

The Meiji government quickly realised how lucrative taxing the product would be—providing much-needed funds for Japan’s widespread industrialisation programmes. In 1896 –1898, the Japanese government established the Japanese Monopoly Bureau to bring tobacco cultivation under government control. In an effort to raise funds for the Russo–Japanese War (1904 –1905), the Japanese government role was expanded to include the taxation of all tobacco-related transactions originating from both domestic and foreign trade. The 1902 Tobacco Monopoly Law meant that the state monopoly now controlled cultivation, manufacture, sale, and consumption. The expansion of the Bureau’s responsibilities led to the expulsion of all foreign tobacco interests from Japan and tight control over tobacco imports—essentially amounting to a complete monopolisation of the tobacco industry by the government. This protected domestic tobacco production in Japan from foreign competition for the next eight decades, though it also resulted in the liquidation of private Japanese tobacco companies such as Murai Brothers.

The Second World War brought many changes to the Japanese tobacco industry, including a shift away from packaging marked in the English language at a time when Japanese traditions were being brought to the forefront and Western influences minimised. The intensification of the war also led to a combination of tax increases and rationing which dramatically affected the sale of cigarettes during the conflict. By 1943, buyers of Kinshi-brand cigarettes had to pay a tax of 15 sen on a 7-sen pack. By 1945, Japanese citizens were only permitted three cigarettes per day. Even with the end of the war, tobacco rationing continued until 1950. After the war, tax revenue received from the fragrant leaf became an important contributor to rebuilding post-War Japan. In June 1949, the Japanese Monopoly Bureau became the ‘Japan Tobacco and Salt Monopoly Corporation’. The Japanese tobacco market remained tightly controlled by the Japanese government. In 1985—under pressure from the United States, and in line with its ongoing trade liberalisation—the Japan Tobacco and Salt Public Corporation was reincorporated into ‘Japan Tobacco’ (JT), a publicly traded company with more freedom from direct government intervention. As a result, the Japanese tobacco market opened up to foreign manufacturers for the first time since the Russo–Japanese War.

Today, JT remains a private company, although the Japanese government is legally required to own one-third of the enterprise. JT is still obliged to purchase leaf tobacco at an above-market rate in order to protect Japanese farmers, and faces little domestic competition. Even as Japan has experienced a gradual decrease in smoking rates and a ban on indoor smoking, the Japanese tobacco industry has remained fairly profitable. Importantly, the tobacco industry’s success continues to be used to raise funds for Japan in times of need. For example, following the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that devastated much of north-eastern Japan, the funds generated from the government sale of shares in Japan Tobacco went to aid recovery efforts. With new tobacco products (such as e-cigarettes) growing in popularity, the Japanese tobacco industry seems well-poised to retain the central place it has occupied in Japan for almost four centuries.

Adapted from N.R. Jenzen-Jones, Patrick Phillips & Charles Randall, ‘A Brief History of Tobacco in Japan' in Tobacco of the Emperor: A Guide to Imperial Japanese Cigarettes, Pipes, Matches & Accessories (Nashville: Headstamp Publishing, 2023).

Image sources: Tobacco & Salt Museum, Tokyo; Old Tokyo.