Za

Japanese: 座 - ざ

From the end of the Heian period through the Warring States period, a privileged trade association was formed by merchants, craftsmen, and performers, with the Imperial Court, nobles, temples, and shrines as its honjo. Many craft guilds were involved in all stages of production, from production to sales, and also functioned as commercial guilds. Unlike the privileged merchant guilds that were established in medieval Western European cities, these medieval Japanese guilds were formed not only in cities (urban guilds) but also in villages (village guilds and country guilds). These guilds continued to exist for four and a half centuries, but over time they expanded from honza (main guilds) to shinza (new guilds), magoza (grandchild guilds), and their nature changed.

[Atsuko Suzuki]

Established

The za originated from a group of servants who occupied specific seats during ceremonies and festivals at the Imperial Court and powerful temples and shrines. It is said that this originated from the bemin (commoners) of the ancient state. They were called kugonin (attendants), zoshiki (common attendants), and kayocho (palanquin bearers) among the nobles, jinin (shinjin) at shrines, and yoryudo (committees) at temples, and were tasked with providing public and private service and making tributes to the honjo (office) to which they belonged, and were granted the privilege of exemption from various national taxes and other duties in addition to receiving a salary as a payment. These za are called "service za" (office of service) to distinguish them from later za (office of business) that were established for the purpose of business.

Towards the end of the Heian period, as productivity improved, the Kugyonin began to commercialize the surplus tributes. On the other hand, due to financial difficulties of the Ritsuryo government, the Honjo was short of the salaries to pay the Kugyonin, so it tried to secure tribute to the Honjo by permitting their commercial activities and granting them various privileges. The palanquin bearers who belonged to the four shifu (the Left and Right Konoefu, the Left and Right Hyoefu) and carried palanquins during imperial journeys were given the privilege of exemption from business taxation and engaged in 18 types of commercial activities, such as paper making, white cloth, sake koji, and somen noodles, and were also given the exclusive right as za to sell Nishiki Nari-gumi, chicken, scrap iron, hoe handles, Akazomemachi Katabirauri, silk, kimono, and rice. In addition, the chiefs of the za belonging to Shoryo and Shoshi had the right to collect taxes, which became hereditary and privatized to become honjo. The relationship between the Sanjonishi family, who were the heads of the Costume Bureau, and the Aosoza troupe is well known.

In this way, in the late Middle Ages, za traders entered into contracts with honjo to provide certain amounts of official tribute in order to obtain privileges such as exemption from business taxes, and so-called za merchants appeared. This new type of za was called a "business za."

[Atsuko Suzuki]

City Theatre and Village Theatre

The development of the distribution economy was remarkable after the Nanboku-cho period, and za were formed in many different industries, mainly in cities such as Kyoto and Nara, and in villages in the Kinai region. In Kyoto in particular, za were concentrated in the commercial districts of Sanjo and Shijo, where za merchants such as the Cotton and Silk merchants of Gionsha Shrine, as well as the za of Shifu Kakocho, set up shop. In Oyamazaki, at the southwest entrance to Kyoto, the oil merchants, whose head office was Rikyu Hachimangu Shrine, lived. They formed the oil merchants, which were unions of different occupations, and at the same time, they formed "machi" communities, which were unions of people by local ties, and established their own status as townspeople, had self-governing organizations, and managed the city's self-governance. In Yamato, many different za were established in Nara and the surrounding villages, with their head offices at Daijo-in and Ichijo-in temples of Kofuku-ji Temple and Kasuga Shrine. The number of merchants based at Daijo-in alone was over 60, and they sold all kinds of daily necessities, from salt, oil, and timber to sugegasa (sedge hats) and tokoroten (spicy soybean paste). In Omi, four merchant za (salt za), bakuroza (hakurakuza), paper za, and gofukuza (dealing in cotton wool) were formed in Tokuchin-no-ho, Enryakuji territory, Gamo-gun. The Tokuchin-no-ho merchants engaged in fierce disputes with the merchants of the surrounding village za over the exclusive rights and trading area of the markets on the east shore of Lake Biwa, and even the exclusive rights of the distribution route to Wakasa and Ise. The arbitration was carried out not only by Enryaku-ji Temple in Honjo, but also by local lords, shugo (the Rokkaku clan), and the shogunate, indicating that village merchants were supporting the local economy, which expanded dramatically in the late Middle Ages.

[Atsuko Suzuki]

Organization and Functions

The number of zashu, the members of a za, varied, from large ones with over 60 members such as the rice za within the kakocho za, to organisations with just 2-3 people. Large za had an "otona" or "satanin" who led the zashu and collected the za's duties and made deliveries to the honjo. Initially, the zashu provided honjo with labour services and handicraft products (deliveries in kind) as za's duties, but in the Muromachi period, they became more of a business za and payments in money became the norm. In particular, new za formed in opposition to the honza had a strong business character, and in the case of the Wataza of Gion Shrine, the niza paid za's duties to the honza and gained the right to peddle goods around Kyoto.

During the Sengoku period, za (sieges) were established to control merchants who purveyed to the lords of the warring states. Examples include the Tachibanaza in Fuchū, Echizen (Asakura clan), the Tomonoza in Imajuku, Sunpu (Imagawa clan), and the Konokobeza in Miyaichi, Suō (Ouchi clan). These za took control of the entire distribution economy, from controlling and taxing merchants in castle towns to procuring goods.

[Atsuko Suzuki]

function

As business organizations, the za acquired the following privileges to facilitate commercial activities and pursue profits. The first was the exemption from taxes, such as the right to free passage through barriers and ports (exemption from customs and port fees, or kasho) established in various places from the Muromachi period onwards, and the right to be exempt from market taxes. For example, the Oyamazaki Abura no Shinjin acquired the kasho at Fuwanoseki in 1222 (Joō 1), and subsequently obtained the right to be exempt from "various barrier and port fees," allowing them to actively engage in business activities from purchasing perilla seeds to selling oil. The second was various monopolies, from purchasing raw materials to selling finished products. It is well known that the Oyamazaki Abura no Shinjin purchased perilla seeds and sold oil in Kinai (excluding Yamato), Chugoku, and Kyushu, and they protected their monopoly even to the point of destroying the oil presses of local oil producers. The Shihon Shonin (Yamagoe Shonin), centered around the Tokuchinbo merchants of Omi, achieved a monopoly on the purchase and sale of salted products from Ise and Obama by monopolizing the transportation routes. In addition, in order to sell products, it was important to set up a sales area and secure exclusive sales rights in the market, i.e. Ichizaken, and disputes over these issues arose frequently in the late Middle Ages.

In the early days, the rights of the za were guaranteed by the Imperial Court and the honjo, but with the decline of the power of manor lords, they began to seek protection by paying tribute to the shogunate, shugo, local lords, etc.

[Atsuko Suzuki]

decline

The monopolies that the za pursued to protect their own business profits ended up hindering economic development. As a result, Sengoku daimyo had their official merchants form new za to manage and control commerce within their domains, with the aim of nurturing industry and economic development within their territories. Furthermore, they adopted policies that rejected the traditional za, as seen in the Rokkaku clan of Omi issuing an order to make markets free under Kannonji Castle. Oda Nobunaga issued orders to make markets free and open to the public within his own domain, and Toyotomi Hideyoshi spread this nationwide. As a result, the za, a commercial organization unique to the Middle Ages, disappeared.

[Atsuko Suzuki]

"Commerce in Medieval Japan" by Toyoda Takeshi (1982, Yoshikawa Kobunkan) " ▽ "Study of Seats" by Toyoda Takeshi (1982, Yoshikawa Kobunkan)" ▽ "Merchants and Transportation in the Middle Ages" by Toyoda Takeshi (1983, Yoshikawa Kobunkan)" ▽ "Feudal Cities" by Toyoda Takeshi (1983, Yoshikawa Kobunkan)" ▽ "History of Distribution" edited by Toyoda Takeshi et al. (1969, Yamakawa Publishing)" ▽ "Commerce in Manors" by Sasaki Ginya (1965, Yoshikawa Kobunkan)" ▽ "Study of the History of Merchandise Distribution in the Middle Ages" by Sasaki Ginya (1972, Hosei University Press)" ▽ "The Origins of Japanese Merchants" by Sasaki Ginya (Kyouikusha Rekishi Shinsho)" ▽ "Study of the History of the Development of Commerce in Medieval Japan" by Wakita Haruko (1965, Ochanomizu Shobo) "Haruko Wakita, 'Theories on Medieval Japanese Cities' (1981, University of Tokyo Press)" " Ken Nakamura, 'Research on the History of Medieval Soumura Villages' (1984, Hosei University Press)"

Medieval seat (Kinai area)
©Shogakukan ">

Medieval seat (Kinai area)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

Japanese:

平安時代末期から戦国時代にかけ、朝廷・公家(くげ)・寺社を本所(ほんじょ)として、商人・手工業者・芸能者などが結成した特権的な同業者団体。多くの手工業座は、製品の生産から販売に至るまで一貫して携わり、商業座としての機能ももっていた。このような日本中世の座は、西欧中世の都市に成立した特権的な商人ギルドとは異なり、都市（都市座）のみならず、村落内でも結成された（村落座・田舎座(いなかざ)）。これらの座は4世紀半にわたって存続したが、時代とともに本座(ほんざ)から新座(しんざ)、孫座(まござ)などと組織を拡大し、その性格も変質させていった。

［鈴木敦子］

成立

座は、朝廷・権門寺社の儀式や祭礼の際に特定の座席を占めた奉仕者の集団から発生した。これは古代国家における部民(べみん)の系譜を引くものといわれている。彼らは、公家では供御人(くごにん)・雑色(ぞうしき)・駕輿丁(かよちょう)、神社では神人(じにん)、寺院では寄人(よりゅうど)などとよばれていたが、所属する本所に対して、公的・私的な奉仕・貢納を任務としており、また給付としての俸禄(ほうろく)のほかに国家的諸課役などの免除の特権を受けていた。このような座を、後の営業を目的とする座（「営業の座」）と区別して「奉仕の座」とよんでいる。

　平安末期になると、生産力の向上に伴い、供御人らは貢納物の余剰を商品化するようになった。一方、律令(りつりょう)政府の財政逼迫(ひっぱく)から、本所では彼らに支払うべき俸禄が不足したために、その商業活動を認め、さらに種々の特権を与えることによって本所への貢納を確保しようとした。四府(しふ)（左・右近衛府(このえふ)、左・右兵衛府(ひょうえふ)）に所属し、行幸(ぎょうこう)の際に輿(こし)を担いだ駕輿丁は、営業課税免除の特権を与えられ、紙折敷(かみおしき)、白布(しらぬの)、酒麹(さけこうじ)、索麺(そうめん)など18業種の商業活動に従事し、さらに錦(にしき)並(ならびに)組、鳥、古鉄、鋤柄(すきえ)、赤染町帷売(あかぞめまちかたびらうり)、絹売、呉服、米については、座としての専売権を与えられていた。また諸寮・諸司に属する座は、その長官が課役徴収の権利を得ており、これが世襲化、私物化されて本所となった。装束司の長官であった三条西(さんじょうにし)家と青苧座(あおそざ)の関係は、つとに著名である。

　このようにして、中世後期になると、座は営業課税免除の特権などを求めて、本所と一定の公事銭貢納契約を結び、いわゆる座商人が出現してくる。このような新しいタイプの座を「営業の座」とよぶ。

［鈴木敦子］

都市座と村落座

南北朝期以降の流通経済の発展は著しく、座は京都・奈良などの都市や、畿内(きない)の村落を中心に数多くの業種で結成された。とくに京都では、商業地区である三条・四条に座が集中し、四府駕輿丁の諸座をはじめとして、祇園社(ぎおんしゃ)神人の綿本座・練絹座などの座商人が店舗を構えていた。京都の南西の入口にあたる大山崎には、離宮八幡宮(りきゅうはちまんぐう)を本所とする油神人が居住していた。彼らは、職種別結合としての油座を結成すると同時に、地縁結合である「マチ」共同体を結成して、町人としての自己の地位を確立し、自治組織をもち、都市自治を運営していた。また大和(やまと)では興福寺大乗院・一乗院、春日神社(かすがじんじゃ)を本所とする多種類の座が、奈良やその周辺村落内に成立した。その数は大乗院を本所とするものだけで60余に上り、塩、油、材木から菅笠(すげがさ)、心太(ところてん)に至るまでのあらゆる生活物資に及んだ。近江(おうみ)では蒲生(がもう)郡の延暦寺領(えんりゃくじりょう)得珍保(とくちんのほ)に、塩座、博労座(ばくろうざ)（伯楽座(はくらくざ)）、紙座、呉服座（真綿を扱う）の4座が結成されていた。得珍保商人は、琵琶湖(びわこ)東岸地域内の市場での専売権・商圏、さらには若狭(わかさ)・伊勢(いせ)への流通路独占権をめぐって、周辺の村落座商人と激しい相論を展開した。その裁定には、本所の延暦寺のみならず、国人領主・守護（六角(ろっかく)氏）・幕府までがあたっており、中世後期に飛躍的に拡大した地域経済を、村落座商人が支えていたことを示している。

［鈴木敦子］

組織・機能

座の構成員である座衆の人数はさまざまで、大規模なものでは駕輿丁座のなかの米座の60余人を擁するものから、2～3人で組織されるものまで多様であった。大規模な座には、座衆を統率し、座役をまとめて本所に納入する「おとな」・「沙汰人(さたにん)」がいた。座衆は当初、本所に対して、労働奉仕や手工業製品（現物納）を座役として納入していたが、室町期に入ると、営業の座としての色彩を強め、金納が主流となった。とくに本座に対して新しく結成される新座は、営業座としての色彩が強く、祇園社の綿座の場合、新座は本座に座役銭を納入して、京中を行商する「振売(ふりう)り商売」の権利を得ていた。

　戦国期になると、戦国大名の御用商人が統制する座が成立する。越前(えちぜん)府中(ふちゅう)（朝倉氏）の橘座(たちばなざ)、駿府(すんぷ)今宿(いまじゅく)（今川氏）の友野座(とものざ)、周防(すおう)宮市(みやいち)（大内氏）の兄部座(このこうべざ)などがその例で、彼らは城下町商人の統制・徴税から物資調達までの流通経済全般を掌握した。

［鈴木敦子］

機能

座は営業団体として商業活動の円滑化と利益追求のために、以下のような特権を獲得していた。第一は課役免除の特権で、室町期以降所々に設けられた関・津の自由通行権（関銭・津料免除権、過所(かしょ)）や、市場での市場税免除権などである。たとえば大山崎油神人は、1222年（貞応1）不破関(ふわのせき)の過所を得たのをはじめとして、「諸関津料」の免除権を得て、荏胡麻(えごま)の買付けから油の販売までの活発な営業活動を展開した。第二は、原料の仕入れから製品の販売に至るまでの種々の独占権である。大山崎油神人が、畿内（大和を除く）・中国・九州で荏胡麻の仕入れと油の販売をしたことは有名で、彼らは在地の油生産者の搾油器を破却してまでも、自己の独占権を守っている。近江の得珍保商人を中心とした四本商人(しほんしょうにん)（山越商人(やまごえしょうにん)）は、輸送路を専有することによって伊勢・小浜(おばま)からの塩相物(しおあいもの)などの仕入れから販売までの独占を果たした。また製品販売には、営業圏の設定、さらには市場での独占販売権＝市座権の確保が重要で、中世後期にはこれらをめぐっての相論が頻発している。

　座の諸権利は、初期には朝廷や本所によって保障されていたが、荘園(しょうえん)領主権力の衰退に伴い、幕府・守護・在地領主などに上納金を納めてその保障を求めるようになった。

［鈴木敦子］

衰退

座が自己の営業利益を守るために進めた独占化は、かえって経済発展の妨げとなっていった。そのため戦国大名は領国内の産業育成・経済発展を目的として、御用商人に新たな座を結成させ領国内商業の管理・統制を行わせた。さらに近江の六角氏が観音寺城下に楽市令(らくいちれい)を出したように、旧来からの座を否定する政策をとったのである。織田信長は、自領国内に楽市・楽座令を発布し、豊臣秀吉(とよとみひでよし)はそれを全国化していった。これによって中世特有の商業組織としての座は姿を消したのである。

［鈴木敦子］

『豊田武著『中世日本の商業』（1982・吉川弘文館）』▽『豊田武著『座の研究』（1982・吉川弘文館）』▽『豊田武著『中世の商人と交通』（1983・吉川弘文館）』▽『豊田武著『封建都市』（1983・吉川弘文館）』▽『豊田武他編『流通史』（1969・山川出版社）』▽『佐々木銀弥著『荘園の商業』（1965・吉川弘文館）』▽『佐々木銀弥著『中世商品流通史の研究』（1972・法政大学出版局）』▽『佐々木銀弥著『日本商人の源流』（教育社歴史新書）』▽『脇田晴子著『中世日本商業発達史の研究』（1965・御茶の水書房）』▽『脇田晴子著『日本中世都市論』（1981・東京大学出版会）』▽『仲村研著『中世惣村史の研究』（1984・法政大学出版局）』