Usury - Loan shark

Money lenders. They were the main players in early modern private finance alongside pawnbrokers, who charged high interest rates for short-term loans without taking any collateral. The origins of the money lending business date back to the Edo period, when loans were made using their own funds for short periods, and in many cases they lent out interest after deducting the principal. These were the so-called "tenbiki," "tenri," and "odori." Some even made surplus profits under the pretext of "gratuity money and brush and ink fees." This was a simple form of financing that did not require a mortgage, and met the needs of ordinary people who were struggling to make ends meet, but it naturally led to many people suffering from excessive interest. For this reason, many "regulations" were issued to regulate the business, but it seems that they were not particularly effective.

In Edo and other cities, the types of business diversified and various types of moneylending came into existence, including the following small forms of moneylending:

(1) Zatougane: A blind person who was given special preferential treatment in money lending.

(2) Karasu-gane: A loan for one day and one night.

(3) Hyakuichi Mon: A loan to a “door-to-door seller” who would lend 100 mon in the morning and repay 101 mon in the evening.

(4) Non-permanent rental: Repayment is made on a pro rata basis.

(5) Daijingane: A temporary loan given to tourists.

Meanwhile, in rural areas, usurers such as landlords and liquor stores were also widely seen, and the practice of seizing farmland as collateral for loans became widespread, which was one of the roots of the emergence of "parasitic landlords." In contrast to large-scale financial institutions such as "daimyo loans" by great merchants and "shidosen" by shrines and temples, "usurers" played an important role as financing for the common people in the early modern period, along with "pawnbrokers," and continued to do so even after the Meiji period, with this tradition extending to the recent "salaryman financing."

[Toshimi Takeuchi]

In economics, usury is defined as lending at an interest rate that exceeds the social average profit, and usury capital is considered to belong to the category of pre-existing capital. Since usury is based on an urgent need for money, the interest rate level far exceeds social common sense. Therefore, not only does it often produce tragedies that have social repercussions, but since many of the borrowers are small and medium-sized businesses or workers, it has a significant negative impact on economic activity. Therefore, in modern society, the activities of such usurers are strictly regulated by law.

The first law to prohibit usury in modern society was the Interest Rate Restriction Law, which was enacted in Japan in 1877 (Meiji 10) and has restricted excessive interest rates on loans. At the same time, there were also attempts to restrict the use of high interest rates by small-scale lenders. After the Second World War, so-called underground lending became rampant under the severe inflation, so the Law on the Regulation of Money Lending Business, etc. was enacted in 1949 (Showa 24), which imposed restrictions on the business activities of money lending businesses. Furthermore, in 1954, the Interest Rate Restriction Law was revised to fit the new economic situation, and the Law on the Regulation of Acceptance of Contributions, Deposits, and Interest Rates, etc. (Contribution Law) was enacted to replace the Law on the Regulation of Money Lending Business, etc., which imposed penalties on high interest rates and restrictions on money lending intermediary fees. In 1972, the government enacted the Law for Promoting Voluntary Regulation of Moneylenders, with the aim of promoting corporate finance as modern consumer finance, with the aim of establishing consumer finance associations in each prefecture and enforcing restrictions on high interest rates through the guidance of these associations. However, in recent years, loans from small-scale moneylenders (commonly known as "sarakin") have become a social problem due to deliberate excessive lending, aggressive collection practices, and ultra-high interest rates that result in excessive profits. As a result, in 1983, the new Law for the Regulation of Moneylending Business (Moneylending Business Regulation Law) was enacted and the Investment Law was revised to prohibit excessive lending and exaggerated advertising, gradually lower the upper limit of interest rates, and regulate collection practices.

However, the collapse of the bubble economy in the 1990s brought about an abnormal situation for small and medium-sized financial institutions, which faced various issues between the legal interest rate and the interest rate for small loans. The so-called gray zone interest rate problem includes various issues such as credit card financing that exceeds the limit (so-called personal bankruptcy, etc.). These include ultra-high interest rates and pyramid schemes, which have led to concerns that they will create multiple debtors and significantly damage public order and morals. In response, the revised Investment Law and the Money Lending Business Law (renamed following the revision of the Money Lending Business Regulation Law, fully implemented in June 2010) were enacted in 2007 (Heisei 19), aiming to purify small and medium-sized financial institutions and ordinary people's finances. Furthermore, the Supreme Court denied the obligation to repay the principal, including abnormal interest rates that are not legal. In civil lawsuits in 2007, there was a sharp increase in lawsuits for the return of "overpayments" that exceeded the interest rate limit law, and due to the accumulation of payment reserves, large financial institutions went bankrupt that year.

[Kazuyoshi Okada]

"The Development Structure of Usury Finance" by Shibuya Ryuichi (2000, Japan Library Center)" ▽ "Usury Finance in Edo - Hatamoto, Gokenin and Sadaji" by Kitahara Susumu (2008, Yoshikawa Kobunkan)" ▽ "A Practical Guide to Moneylending Business" by Ishikawa Takanori (2008, Economic Law Research Association)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

金銭貸付業者。「質物（担保）」をとらないかわりに短期間の貸付で高い金利をとる、「質貸（質屋）」と並ぶ近世民間金融の主役である。鎌倉期の「借上(かしあげ)」、室町期の「土倉(どそう／つちくら)」など貸金業の由来は久しいが、「高利貸」の名称は江戸期のもので、「高歩貸」と上方(かみがた)ではよんだ。もっぱら自己資金を短期限で貸し付け、多く「元金」から「利息」を差し引いて貸し渡した。いわゆる「天引」「天利」「踊り」の形である。そのほか「礼金・筆墨料」などの名目で余利をむさぼるものさえあった。「抵当」の要らぬ簡便な金融で、生活費にも窮迫する庶民の要望には適合したが、当然暴利に苦しむ人々も多く生じた。そのため、規制の「制令」も幾多発布されたが、その効果はさしてなかったらしい。

　江戸その他の都市ではその業態も多彩に分化し、以下のような零細な貸金の形も生じた。

(1)座頭金(ざとうがね)　盲人の金貸で特別に優先保護された。

(2)烏金(からすがね)　一昼夜限りの貸金。

(3)百一文　朝100文貸し夕刻101文返済させる「振り売り」などへの貸金。

(4)日なし貸　「日割り」で「なしくずし」に返金させる。

(5)大尽金(だいじんがね)　遊客への一時「立替え貸」。

　一方、農村では、地主・酒屋などの高利貸も広くみられ、借金の抵当に農地を収奪する形が広く生じて、「寄生地主」発生の根源の一つともなった。大商人の「大名貸(だいみょうがし)」、社寺の「祠堂銭(しどうせん)」などの大型金融に対し、「高利貸」は「質屋」とともに近世庶民金融として重要な役割をもち、明治以後も、なおその余勢を保って、近年の「サラリーマン金融」にまでその伝統は及んでいる。

［竹内利美］

　経済学上、高利貸は社会的平均利潤を超える金利での貸付と規定され、高利貸資本は前期的資本の範疇(はんちゅう)に属するものとされる。高利貸付は差し迫った金銭需要に基づくから、金利水準は社会的常識を著しく超えたものとなる。したがってしばしば社会的な反響をよぶ悲劇を生むのみならず、貸付対象の多くが小規模零細企業あるいは勤労者であるから、経済的活動に多大の悪影響をもたらす。そこで近代社会ではこのような高利貸の活動を法律でもって厳しく規制している。

　近代社会で高利を禁止した最初の法律は利息制限法で、日本では1877年（明治10）に制定され、金銭貸借上の異常な利息を規制してきた。またこれと並んでしばしば小口貸金業者の高利の貸付規制を求める試みもあった。第二次世界大戦後は、激しいインフレ下にいわゆる闇(やみ)金融が横行したので、1949年（昭和24）に「貸金業等の取締に関する法律」が制定され、貸金業の業務内容に規制が加えられることとなった。さらに1954年には利息制限法が新しい経済状勢に適合するものに改められるとともに「出資の受入れ、預り金及び金利等の取締りに関する法律」（出資法）が制定されて「貸金業等の取締に関する法律」にかわることとなり、高金利の処罰や金銭貸借媒介手数料の制限などが実施された。また1972年には、社会政策的な意図のもとに貸金業者を近代的な庶民金融として企業金融化することを意図して「貸金業者の自主規制の助長に関する法律」を制定、都道府県ごとに庶民金融業協会を設置し、同協会を通ずる指導によって高利取締りを実施した。しかし近時、小口貸金業者（通称サラ金）による貸付が、意識的な過剰融資、暴力的な取立て、暴利をもたらす超高金利として社会問題となり、その結果、1983年には新たに「貸金業の規制等に関する法律」（貸金業規制法）が制定されるとともに出資法が改正され、過剰貸付および誇大広告の禁止、上限金利の段階的な引下げ、取立て行為の規制などが行われることになった。

　しかし、1990年代のバブル経済崩壊過程は中小零細な金融に異常な状況をもたらし、法定金利と小口貸付金利の間に多様な課題を抱えることとなった。いわゆるグレーゾーン金利問題で、限度を超えたクレジットカード金融（いわゆる自己破産など）等、多様なものが含まれている。これらには超高金利から、マルチ商法まがいなものも含まれ、多重債務者を生じさせ、公序良俗を著しく損なうものと危惧(きぐ)されるに至った。そこで2007年（平成19）改正出資法および「貸金業法」（貸金業規制法の改正に伴い改称、完全施行は2010年6月）が定められ、中小金融はじめ庶民金融の浄化が図られた。さらに最高裁判所は法定外の異常金利について、元本を含めて返済履行の義務を否定した。そこで2007年中の民事訴訟では、利息制限法を超える「過払い金」の返還訴訟が急増、支払準備金の積み増し等もあって、同年中に大型の金融業者の倒産がみられた。

［岡田和喜］

『渋谷隆一著『高利貸金融の展開構造』（2000・日本図書センター）』▽『北原進著『江戸の高利貸――旗本・御家人と札差』（2008・吉川弘文館）』▽『石川貴教著『貸金業実務の手引』（2008・経済法令研究会）』

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