The commodity economy has developed greatly since the mid-Tokugawa period, and a commodity economic circle centered on Osaka, Edo, and Kyoto has been formed across the country. Edo is the largest national consumer market. Every day, merchant ships from all over the country dock at Edo Port loaded with rice, alcohol, salt, and handicrafts. In addition to some of these products being rented to the shogunate and feudal lords, more than half were products that entered the Edo market. Take rice as an example. The commercial rice sent to Edo was sold by rice wholesalers to sellers. After being processed by "rice pounding houses", it was directly sent to the market for sale. During the Kayaga period (1848-1853), Edo Castle alone had There are more than 2,700 such "rice pounding houses".

In Osaka, the Dojima Rice Market was opened in 1697 (Genroku 10th year). In 1730, the Dojima Rice Club was established, with "Masami Shonai" and "According to the Rice Shonai" . "Zhengmi Shangnei" is responsible for the issuance of rice coupons, while "Chenghe Mishangnei" conducts securities trading activities equivalent to futures trading. Every year, more than 1 million koku of rice from Kinai, Kyushu, Shikoku and even Tohoku are concentrated in a warehouse called "Kurayashiki". Rice merchants exchange the purchased "rice Kirite" (rice coupons) for rice and transport it to Osakadoshima Rice Market. Sale.

In addition to rice, the wine market is also taking shape. In order to stabilize rice prices, the shogunate ordered the lifting of restrictions on the sake-making industry in 1754. The Nada area in Hyogo Prefecture, Itami, and Ikeda in Settsu have become famous wine-producing areas. The prosperous wine manufacturing industry has also attracted surrounding people to participate in labor. In addition, salt is mainly produced in the countries along the Seto Inland Sea. In the 17th century, the salt produced here accounted for more than 90% of the national salt market.

Due to the expansion of the division of labor between urban and rural areas, the circulation and cooperation of commodity production are increasingly strengthened. For example, the raw materials for Akita's cotton textile industry came from Osaka outside the domain. This production method broke the boundaries between vassals and enabled the market for commodity production to expand day by day.

The development of the commodity economy has also involved farmers in the circulation of commodity production. The countryside is not only a supplier of raw materials for commodities, but also a factory for simple processing industries. Merchants will purchase certain handmade products from farmers and pay limited processing fees; landlords and rich peasants will open handicraft workshops and hire farmers for production, etc., which are all manifestations of this change.

In this way, relatively independent markets appeared in various parts of the country, and the seeds of the capitalist production mode gradually emerged.

At the beginning of the 19th century, handicraft workshops appeared where many workers divided labor to produce the same product. In rural areas, landlords and rich peasants opened handicraft workshops such as wine making and soy sauce, and hired farmers for production. There are also businessmen who provide raw materials and production tools such as cotton yarn, looms, etc., and organize labor to produce goods. In cities, the number and scale of manual workshops have reached a considerable level. During the Edo period, most of the luxurious clothing worn by the upper class and the fabrics consumed by citizens came from the handicraft workshops in Nishijin, Kyoto. In addition to flat looms, the factory also has "high looms" that can weave complex patterns. Nishijin's silk weaving factory reached great proportions in the 18th century. In June 1730, the Nishijin Weaving Factory in Kyoto suffered a fire, and 3,012 looms were lost, and this number was only half of the total looms. After the restoration, the number of looms in the factory still reached more than 2,500, which shows the strength of the Nishijin Weaving Factory at that time. powerful. In addition to winemaking and silk weaving, handicraft workshops also appeared in other industries.

The commodity economy impacted the economic structure of feudal lords and promoted class changes in production relations and rural areas. First, a large number of wealthy merchants emerged. They used the profits gained from commodity operations to invest in land reclamation and river management, and became merchants and landlords who owned commodities and large amounts of land in Qianzhuang River. They converted capital into land, exploited farmers through tenancy relationships, and then used the land rent to invest in commercial activities. Secondly, differentiation also occurred among farmers, and a large number of small farmers lost their land and became tenant farmers. The bankruptcy of small farmers fundamentally shook the shogunate system. It was this change in production and class relations that drove the overthrow of the shogunate and the establishment of a new government representing the interests of the bourgeoisie.