Early Meiji Japan witnessed a boom in Japanese Ginseng exports, but the years between 1880 and 1886 brought a sharp decline. Previous research linked this recession to chaos in domestic production and by illegal imports of Korean Ginseng without presenting data about the actual fluctuation of Ginseng output. Moreover, as the biggest target market of Japanese Ginseng exportation, the situation in Qing, China should be included in any analysis. Based on statistical data collected in China and Japan, this study clarifies the reasons for the sharp decline during the early 1880s. PMID: 27149777 [Indexed for MEDLINE]