Everyday Life in Traditional Japan by Charles Dunn

Author:Charles Dunn [Dunn, Charles]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-4-8053-1005-2
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

(56) Moneychanger’s. The clerks are busy weighing (using balance and steel-yard), calculating on the soroban, counting and transporting strings of cash. Customers enjoy a pipe while waiting. A samurai and a woman pass by.

As in every other field, moneychangers (56) were sharply stratified. In Osaka they existed in three layers. At the bottom were small dealers, who were often retailers of other commodities, such as oil, or sake, and dealt mainly with the exchange of copper and small amounts of silver. They were known as “zeni shops.” Next above these were the normal run of businesses, operating at the level of inter-city trade, and performing in fact many of the roles that bankers do today, including the issue of documents for the transfer of money, accepting deposits, and advancing loans. No interest was given on money in what we would now call a current account, but certificates were issued that could be used for financial transactions. Loans were usually dependent upon the good character of the borrower, and were generally restricted to those who had money on deposit. The weight of silver required to settle accounts in Osaka was much greater than that of gold in Edo, and so the use of letters of credit and the like was a great convenience. The usual sign hanging outside a money exchange was a large wooden representation of a zeni.

The top layer was formed of the “ten men,” ten families who from the 1660s exercised the role of superintendents over the other changers, acting as their bankers and at the same time seeing that they conformed to the customs of the profession. These ten families became financial agents to the central authorities, and acquired the right to wear swords.

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