Moneylender - Kanekashi

Japanese: 金貸 - かねかし

The act of lending money at interest, or a person who makes a living from this. Financial institutions have been found throughout history, in all places and at all times, but in the Edo period, those who lent money without taking any items as collateral, like pawnbrokers, were called sugane (sugin), and many of them lent small amounts of sugin to poor people in cities and charged high interest. Zatougane was practiced by blind people who worked in acupuncture, massage, and entertainment, and was known for charging higher interest rates and being stricter in collecting them than ordinary loan sharks. Karasugane was a term of one day and night, and was so named because the loan would be repaid when the morning crow crows.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

利息をとって金銭を貸すこと，またそれを職業とする者。金融業者は古今東西，時と所とを問わず見られたものであるが，江戸時代には質屋のように担保の物品をとらずに金を貸借するのを素金（すがね）(素銀)と呼び，都市の細民に零細な素金を貸して高利をとる者も多かった。座頭金（ざとうがね）は鍼（はり），あんま，遊芸などを業とする盲人が行ったもので，一般の高利貸よりも利息が高く，取立てがきびしいことで知られた。烏金（からすがね）というのは一昼夜を期限としたもので，明烏（あけがらす）が鳴けば返すというのでこの名があった。

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

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