Zatougane - Down payment

Japanese: 座頭金 - ざとうがね

Also called mekuragane (blind money), this refers to high-interest loans made by the blind during the Edo period. The blind formed associations called todo-za, and the shogunate treated the todo-za's money as official money, allowing them the privilege of lending it out and collecting interest, in order to protect the blind. Official loans meant money loaned by the shogunate, so there was little risk of default and it was a safe and advantageous option, so townspeople provided funds for profit, and the blind received high interest under the protection of the shogunate.

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia About Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia Information

Japanese:

盲金 (めくらがね) ともいう。江戸時代，盲人の行なった高利の貸金をいう。盲人は当道座という仲間をつくっていたが，幕府は盲人保護という立場から当道座の金を官金扱いにし，貸付け，利子を収める特典を許した。官金貸付けとは幕府の貸付金を意味することから，貸倒れの危険も少く安全有利であったので，町人たちは利殖のため資金を提供，盲人たちは幕府の庇護のもとに高利を得た。

出典　ブリタニカ国際大百科事典小項目事典ブリタニカ国際大百科事典小項目事典について　情報

<<: Kanji Sato - Kanji Sato

>>: Sugar maple - Sugar maple