Kojiza

Japanese: 麴座 - こうじざ

In the Middle Ages, they were merchant guilds that produced and sold koji, an ingredient in the brewing of sake and miso. Like other guilds, they were subordinate to feudal lords and paid annual tribute, which granted them privileges and led to many of them exercising a monopoly on business in certain areas and excluding other merchants. Koji could not be produced self-sufficiently, as it required the construction of koji rooms, so koji guilds must have existed in various places. However, historical documents only remain of koji guilds in Izumi Kaizuka, Wakasa Obama, Kanazawa, etc. In Yamato, there are seven guilds, including those affiliated with Ichijo-in and Daijo-in Monzeki temples of Kofuku-ji, or Kasugasha, as well as Gangoji, Goi-no-sho, Magarikawa, Heguri, Otogi, and Yamaguchi.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

中世，酒やみその醸造に欠かすことのできないこうじを製造し，販売した商人の座。他の座と同様，領主に従属して年貢物を出し，それによって特権を認められ，一定地域に営業独占権を行使して他商人を排斥したものが多い。こうじはこうじ室を作って製造するため自給できず，したがって，麴座は各地に存在したはずである。しかし，史料に残存しているのは，和泉貝塚，若狭小浜，金沢など。大和では，興福寺の一乗院･大乗院門跡，あるいは春日社などに所属した諸座，元興寺，五位庄，曲川，平群，乙木，山口などの7座を数えることができる。

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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