Horse finger - Umasashi

…The assistants to the wholesaler were elders, and there were usually several of them. The people who handled the actual work included the bookkeeper who kept the books, the horsemen who distributed the luggage to the men and horses, and the man-footsitter. The people who made up the inn were generally assigned houses of average size, and in exchange for providing horses or men, they were often exempt from land tax. …

*Some of the terminology that refers to "horse finger" is listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

…問屋の補佐役は年寄で，数名のことが多い。実務に当たるものには記帳役の帳付，荷物を人馬に振り分ける馬指（うまさし）や人足指などがいた。宿を構成する人々にはおおむね平均した規模の屋敷が割り当てられ，馬か人足を提供する代りに地子を免除されていることが多かった。…

※「馬指」について言及している用語解説の一部を掲載しています。

出典｜株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典 第２版について | 情報