Kimono shop - Gofukuya

A merchant who bought and sold kimono (silk fabrics, now a general term for kimono fabrics). They were established in Kyoto in the early Edo period in the 17th century, and in Edo, Osaka, and other cities. In Edo, they were originally sold by Kyoto kimono merchants on the street. The distribution system was that kimono were retailed through kimono brokers and kimono wholesalers before being passed on to consumers, but the term "kimono shop" mainly referred to retail sales. Large kimono shops sometimes purchased directly from weavers. From the end of the 17th century, kimono shops sold in cash with no markup. They also handled thick fabrics (linen and cotton fabrics), and many stores called kimono thick fabric shops were established. In the mid-Edo period of the 18th century, in addition to exclusively employing tailors, they also employed craftsmen in dyeing, pasting, and upholstery as underclassmen, and thought was given to providing better service to their customers. In the 20th century, some kimono shops became department stores, while most remained as small businesses catering to a small, specialized clientele.

[Motoo Endo]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

呉服（絹織物、いまは着尺(きじゃく)織物の総称）を売買する商人。17世紀の江戸初期に京都、そして江戸・大坂その他の都市に誕生した。江戸では初めは京都の呉服商人の立ち売りであったという。呉服仲買、呉服問屋を通じて小売りされ消費者に渡るという流通機構であるが、呉服屋といった場合はおもに小売りをさしていた。大きな呉服屋では織屋から直接仕入れることもあった。17世紀末から、現金売り、掛け値なしが呉服屋の商法となっていた。また、太物(ふともの)（麻織物、綿織物）も取り扱い、呉服太物屋という店も多くできた。18世紀の江戸中期では仕立屋を専属させるだけでなく、染め物・練り物・張り物の職人も下職(したしょく)として抱えるようになり、顧客へのサービスを考えた。20世紀には、いくつかの呉服屋は百貨店となり、一方でほとんどの呉服屋は小企業として取り残されることになり、特定のわずかの顧客を対象とするようになった。

［遠藤元男］

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