Kamiza - Kamiza

An old paper merchants' association. In the Middle Ages, many organizations were created with the protection of the Imperial Court, aristocrats, temples and shrines, and were given exclusive rights to the manufacture and sale of various products. They were called za, but paper za was established in the late Muromachi period. The oldest record of this is found in the "Hiyoshi Shrine Documents" of Edamura, Gamo County, Omi Province (Shiga Prefecture). According to this, from around the 14th century, Edamura merchants, under the protection of Enryaku-ji Temple and Hoji-in Temple in Kyoto, monopolized the collection and sale of paper produced in the Oyadamura area of ​​Mino Province (Gifu Prefecture) and the Hokuriku region, and became pioneers of the later development of Omi merchants. The Mino paper that was transported to Kyoto as a result was highly praised as a paper for the popular Kusa-shi paper of the Muromachi period, and papermaking flourished in Mino, the production area. When social order collapsed after the Onin War (1467-77), the system of minority rule by companies was overthrown by new emerging businesses, and the kamiza system was lost along with other za systems.

[Machida Masayuki]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

昔の紙商組合。中世に朝廷、貴族、社寺などの保護を受けて各種商品の製造や販売などの独占権を得る組織が多くつくられ、それらを座と称したが、紙座ができたのは室町時代の後期である。近江(おうみ)国（滋賀県）蒲生(がもう)郡枝村の『日吉(ひえ)神社文書』に、そのもっとも古い記録が残っている。それによると、14世紀ごろから枝村の商人は延暦(えんりゃく)寺や京都の宝慈(ほうじ)院の保護のもとに、美濃(みの)国（岐阜県）大矢田(おおやだ)村（美濃市）方面や北陸地方の産紙までも広くその集荷販売を独占し、その後の近江商人の発展の先駆けをなした。これによって京都へ運ばれた美濃紙は、室町時代に流行した草紙の料紙としてもてはやされ、産地の美濃では製紙が繁栄した。応仁(おうにん)の乱（1467～77）以後、社会秩序が崩れた際に、企業の少数支配の体制が新興業者によって破られ、紙座もほかの座の制度とともに失われた。

［町田誠之］

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