The Archives of the Monopoly Bureau of Taiwan Government under Japanese Rule refers to archives from the main organization that managed disensary system in the Japanese colonial era. Regarding the contents of these archives, they are important sources for research into the history of the monopoly at the time, and they shed light on the economic and financial situation of the Taiwan Sotokufu, as the income from the sales of these items constituted 40% of the government’s annual income.

The Taiwan Sotokufu’s monopoly of tobacco and liquor originated in 1897, when the “Taiwan Opium Decree” was enacted, and later, more items were gradually added. In early 1945, near the end of the period of Japanese rule in Taiwan, items of monopoly included: opium, salt, camphor, tobacco, liquor, alcohol, petroleum, match, measurements, and salty liquor. In the same year, the monopoly on opium was abolished, reducing the total items to nine. The changes from beginning to end were quite obvious in archives filing and classifacation.

The Archives of the Monopoly Bureau of Taiwan Government under Japanese Rule were transferred to the predecessor of Taiwan Historica, the Historical Research Committee of Taiwan Province, in two batches, the first in May 1956, and the second in August 1994. The contents of these archives include records of the sales and purchases of various monopoly items, records of various properties and constructions, and other accounts and register books of both personnel and documentation management needs. In 1901 the Taiwan Sotokufu officially made the Monopoly Bureau independent, documents on camphor and salt which were originally compiled and stored by the Taiwan Sotokufu were transferred to the Monopoly Bureau for storage in 1904 and 1908. Therefore, part of the files of the Monopoly Bureau of the Taiwan Sotokufu before its official establishment are connected with the official documents of the Taiwan Sotokufu, The aim for the joint reorganization and compilation of these files is to digitalize all the files so that the resources can be utilized as well as to categorize the files properly according to the content.

For viewing or copying of the files, please see the Taiwan Historica Digital Archives' copying regulations (http://www.th.gov.tw/web/download.php?g=L012)