Edamura Merchant

Japanese: 枝村商人 - えだむらしょうにん

…There was a horse market in Kyoto, but during the Sengoku period, horse and cattle markets were set up all over the country. Oyada City in Mino Province was also a market in the area of Mino paper, where paper was the main commodity traded, and there were merchants who specialized in purchasing paper and transporting it to Kyoto, such as the Edamura merchants of the eastern part of Omi Lake. In the late Middle Ages, when the production of local specialties in various regions developed significantly, the existence of local markets where such specialties were mainly sold is noteworthy. …

From [Kamiza]

…An early example is the paper market in Minami-shi, Nara, around 1407 (Oei 14). Also, during the Onin era (1467-69), the Omi Edamura merchants, whose head office was the Hoji-in Temple in Kyoto, had a monopoly on transporting paper between the market in Oyada, Mino and Kyoto. Paper brought to Kyoto from various provinces was subject to import duties, but the Edamura merchants had the right to be exempt from this. …

*Some of the terminology that refers to "Edamura Shonin" is listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

Japanese:

…京都にも馬市があったが，戦国時代には，各地に，馬市，牛市が立てられた。美濃国大矢田市も，美濃紙特産地の市として，紙が取引の主要商品であり，その紙を買い付けて京都へ運ぶ専門の商人，近江湖東の枝村商人が存在したのである。各地の特産物生産がいちじるしく発展した中世後期，このような特産物が主として放出される地元の市場の存在は注目される。…