The Konoike family

A wealthy merchant from Osaka in the Edo period. The founder, Shinroku, gave up his samurai life and lived in Konoike Village, Kawabe County, Settsu (Itami City, Hyogo Prefecture), where he started a sake brewing method and made a huge profit. He later moved to Uchikyuhoji Town in Osaka (Chuo Ward, Osaka City) and even expanded into the shipping business.

Shinroku's eighth son, Masanari (1608-1693), who called himself the first Zenemon, was based in Kujojima (Minato Ward) and engaged in shipping Shimizu Morohaku sake to Edo, but in 1650 (Keian 3), he took over the Uchikubojicho store and started a money exchange business in addition to sake brewing and shipping. During the time of the second Kiemon Yukimune (1643-1696), in 1670 (Kanbun 10), he became one of the Ten Money Exchangers along with Tennojiya, Hiranoya, and others. The first volume of the Konoike family's Kanbun 10th year "Sanyocho" (Accounting Book), defines the amount of silver (arigin) minus liabilities (arigin) as liquid net assets = silver principal = capital, and calculates the amount of silver by adding the beach rent, interest silver, and exchange silver (kawaseuchigin) to the total and deducting interest silver and loss silver from buying and selling oval coins. This is the first time that double-entry bookkeeping has been used. In addition, the book shows the establishment of a credit system between the daimyo's finances - the Konoike money exchange - and the wholesaler, in which the Osaka wholesaler's credit account to the Edo wholesaler was converted into a daimyo's loan to the Edo residence, exceeding the amount of sake shipped to Edo, and repaid with Osaka rice. In 1674 (Enpo 2), the company moved its money exchange shop to the corner of Naniwabashi in Imabashi 2-chome and made this its headquarters.

The third head of the family, Zen'emon Munetoshi (1667-1736), succeeded him as head of the family in 1682 (Tenwa 2). During his time, the Konoike family further developed and established a strong foundation. During the Genroku period (1688-1704), the family owned over 100 ships and promised to build 250 more, successfully forming ten groups of wholesalers and controlling the shippers of the shipping wholesaler.

As the family business prospered, they discontinued the sake brewing and shipping businesses and focused solely on money exchange, and they also worked as a daimyo loan agent, creditor and brewer for the Okayama and Hiroshima domains, and ended up doing business with as many as 32 domains. In 1705 (Hoei 2), Munetoshi handed over the family headship to his eldest son, Munesada (4th generation, 1698-1745), who was 8 years old, and began developing Wakae County, Kawachi Province (Higashi Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture), opening and managing the Konoike Shinden, which covered over 120 chobu (later increasing to over 158 chobu).

In 1723 (8th year of the Kyoho era), when the 5th lord Munemasu (1717-1764) inherited the family, Munemasu established the family constitution and rallied around the head of the main family, stipulating thoroughgoing solid daimyo loans, "making sure to make profits and not embarking on new ventures." Mitsui Takafusa's "Machinin Kogenroku" (1728) states that "Only Konoike was able to manage things well, and his financial situation became increasingly favorable."

The interest rate on loans in the early period was 14% per year, but the effective interest rate fell from the middle period onwards, and new loans, interest rate reductions, and annual loans increased through requests from various feudal domains, and daimyo loans were often made in exchange for exchange, with advance payments of Hamakata silver and rice stamps from the storehouses being used as collateral. The family paid the highest amount of rice purchases for the shogunate, including 118,000 koku (Bunka period) for rice purchases and 6,360 kanme (Tenpo period) for official taxes. Because they strengthened their collusion with the shogunate and the town magistrates, they were destroyed and burned down during the Oshio Heihachiro Rebellion, but they maintained their status as wealthy merchants until the end of the Edo period, and during the Meiji Restoration they assisted the new government's finances, and kept their family business afloat amid the economic turmoil. However, it did not transform into an industrial capital, and instead remained focused on finance, as seen in the establishment of the Thirteenth National Bank in 1877 (Meiji 10). The Thirteenth National Bank was reorganized as Konoike Bank (an ordinary bank) in 1897, and merged with Yamaguchi Bank and Thirty-fourth Bank to become Sanwa Bank in 1933 (Showa 8). Sanwa Bank merged with Tokai Bank in 2002 (Heisei 14) to become UFJ Bank, and further merged with Tokyo-Mitsubishi Bank in 2006 to become Mitsubishi Tokyo UFJ Bank (renamed Mitsubishi UFJ Bank in 2018).

[Masa Kawakami, August 21, 2018]

"Koike Zen'emon" by Miyamoto Mataji (1958/New edition 1986, Yoshikawa Kobunkan)" ▽ "Kawasaki-Koike Conzern Reader" by Katsuta Sadatsugu (1999, Japan Library Center)" ▽ "Osaka Museum of History, ed. "Wealthy Merchant Koike - His Life and Culture" (2003, Toho Publishing)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

江戸時代の大坂の豪商。始祖新六(しんろく)は、武士を辞めて摂津川辺(かわべ)郡鴻池村（兵庫県伊丹(いたみ)市）に住み、清酒醸造法を始めて巨利を博し、のち大坂内久宝寺(うちきゅうほうじ)町（大阪市中央区）に移り、さらに海運業にも手を伸ばした。

　新六の八男正成(まさなり)（1608―1693）は、初代善右衛門(ぜんえもん)を称し、九条島（港区）を拠点として清水諸白(しみずもろはく)酒の江戸積みに従事していたが、1650年（慶安3）内久宝寺町店を継ぎ、酒造・海運のほかに両替屋を始めた。2代喜右衛門之宗(きえもんゆきむね)（1643―1696）のとき、1670年（寛文10）天王寺屋(てんのうじや)、平野屋(ひらのや)などとともに十人両替の一員となった。鴻池家の寛文(かんぶん)10年初冊『算用帳』は、西国五藩貸銀・江戸積み米・町人貸の預け銀有銀(ありぎん)から負債を差し引きした有銀を流動的な純資産＝元銀＝資本とし、これに浜家賃(はまやちん)・利銀・為替打銀(かわせうちぎん)を加えた合計から、利打銀・小判売買損銀を控除して有銀を算定するもので、複式記帳の初見である。また、酒の江戸積み代金を超えて、大坂問屋の江戸問屋への貸勘定を大名貸金の江戸屋敷仕送りに替(かわ)す「江戸為替」を取り組み、大坂登米(のぼせまい)で返済するという、大名財政―鴻池両替店―問屋の信用体系も成立している。1674年（延宝2）には、今橋二丁目浪花(なにわ)橋角に両替店を移し、ここを本拠地とした。

　3代善右衛門宗利(むねとし)（1667―1736）は、1682年（天和2）家督を継いだ。彼の時代に鴻池家はさらに発展を遂げ強固な基盤を築いた。元禄(げんろく)期（1688～1704）には手船100余艘(そう)をもち、さらに250艘新造を約して、十組問屋の結成と廻船(かいせん)問屋の船手支配を成功させている。

　家業の隆盛にしたがって、酒造・海運業を廃止し両替屋一本となり、大名貸をはじめ、岡山藩、広島藩の掛屋(かけや)・蔵元を勤めるなど、取引のある諸藩は32に及んだという。1705年（宝永2）宗利は8歳の長男宗貞(むねさだ)（4代。1698―1745）に家督を譲り、河内(かわち)国若江郡内（大阪府東大阪市）の開発に着手、120町歩余の鴻池新田を開き、経営した（のち158町歩余に増加）。

　1723年（享保8）、5代宗益(むねます)（1717―1764）の相続に際して、宗利は家憲を定めて、本家当主を中心に結集し、「随分慥(たし)かなる利廻(りまわ)し致し、新規のことに取掛り申さざるよう」堅実な大名貸の徹底を規定した。三井高房(たかふさ)の『町人考見録』（1728）は「鴻池のみ手廻しよく、ますます身上(しんしょう)厚く成り申(もうし)」たという。

　初期の貸付金利は年14％であるが、中期以降実効金利が低下、諸藩の御頼談(ごらいだん)で、新借、利下げ、年賦借の掛合いが増加し、浜方先納銀・蔵米切手を質にとる入替両替の大名貸もしばしば行われた。幕府御用は、御買米(おかいまい)を一族で11万8000石（文化(ぶんか)期）、御用金6360貫目（天保(てんぽう)期）など最高額を負担している。幕府、町奉行(ぶぎょう)との結託を強めたため、大塩平八郎の乱では打毀(うちこわし)、火災にあうなどしたが、幕末に至るまで富豪・豪商の地位を保持し、明治維新に際しては新政府財政を援助、経済混乱のなかで家業を存続させた。しかし、産業資本への転化を果たさず、1877年（明治10）第十三国立銀行の創設など金融業中心の経営にとどまった。第十三国立銀行は、1897年鴻池銀行（普通銀行）に改組、1933年（昭和8）山口銀行、三十四銀行と合併し、三和銀行となった。なお、三和銀行は2002年（平成14）東海銀行と合併し、UFJ銀行に、さらに2006年には東京三菱(みつびし)銀行と合併、三菱東京UFJ銀行（2018年三菱UFJ銀行に改称）となった。

［川上　雅　2018年8月21日］

『宮本又次著『鴻池善右衛門』（1958／新装版・1986・吉川弘文館）』▽『勝田貞次著『川崎・鴻池コンツェルン読本』（1999・日本図書センター）』▽『大阪歴史博物館編『豪商鴻池――その暮らしと文化』（2003・東方出版）』

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