Yukimura Sakon Yukimura Sakon

Associate Professor, Faculty of Economics, Kyushu University *Profile is at the time of the award.

2026IncubateHumanities & Sociology

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Research topics: Comparative Study of Free Ports in Modern Asia

Keyword

Summary: This project examines the role that free ports played in the expansion of the free trade system in nineteenth-century Asia, including the Russian Far East, and in the consolidation of colonial rule by Western powers. Historians have long noted that free ports contributed significantly to the growth of intra-Asian trade. Yet the free port system itself has rarely been studied in detail._x000D_
To address this gap, the project compares the historical development of Singapore, Hong Kong, Dalian, and Vladivostok. By examining these ports together, it aims to clarify how free ports functioned within the wider structures of trade and empire in modern Asia.

Message

When I first began researching the free port of Vladivostok, I sought advice from Professor Yuzo Yamamoto, a leading authority on Japanese economic history. I still remember being at a loss for words when he told me, “If it were me, I would start by putting together a rough overview of the history of free ports around the world.” At the time, the idea felt almost overwhelming, yet his words stayed with me and gradually shaped the direction of my research._x000D_
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In the years since, I have focused on the history of Russian free ports, even asking whether some of them could truly be described as “free ports.” Through this work, I have begun to glimpse the outlines of a much larger story—a possible “world history of free ports.” With the generous support of the Inamori Foundation, I now hope to take the first step toward that broader perspective through a comparative study of Asia._x000D_
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Modern Asian free ports stand at the intersection of free trade and imperialism. Since Gallagher and Robinson’s influential theory of imperialism of free trade, historians have long debated the relationship between these two forces. Yet the role of free ports themselves has received surprisingly little attention. By exploring their history, this project seeks to deepen our understanding of how free trade and imperial power became intertwined in the making of the modern world.