Commerce - shogyo (English spelling) commerce

Japanese: 商業 - しょうぎょう（英語表記）commerce

A general term for economic activities related to the buying and selling of goods. The meaning and reality of commerce have changed considerably with the development of the economy, but commerce has two basic definitions: broad and narrow. Commerce in the broad sense includes all activities related to the social distribution of goods from producers to consumers, activities that provide information and guide production and consumption, activities that set or adjust prices, and promotional and auxiliary activities to make distribution activities more efficient. It is the entire range of distribution economic phenomena that span production, distribution, and consumption, viewed from the perspective of economic circulation. In contrast, commerce in the narrow sense is only the buying and selling of goods in the distribution of goods, and is viewed from the perspective of individual economic phenomena that are carried out by individual subjects (merchants) in pursuit of profit. Commerce is often used in the narrow sense as an everyday term, but in academic fields such as commerce, economics, and marketing, the broad sense of commerce is more common. In addition, due to the systematization of distribution and the diversification of management, it is becoming more difficult to extract commerce in the narrow sense in practice.

[Mitsuo Morimoto]

The reality of commerce in the narrow and broad senses

Commerce in the narrow sense refers only to the buying and selling of goods (commodities) by merchants, so commerce in this sense coexists with agriculture, forestry, fishing, mining, manufacturing, etc. Also, businesses such as finance, transportation, insurance, and warehousing, which are deeply related to and promote the buying and selling of goods, are not included in commerce in the narrow sense. Furthermore, commerce in the narrow sense does not include goods buying and selling activities that are not carried out by merchants. For example, consumer cooperatives (co-ops) organized by consumers to purchase their own consumer goods at low prices, agricultural cooperatives (agricultural cooperatives) organized by agricultural producers to jointly purchase agricultural equipment, fertilizer, and daily necessities for their own use, and the purchasing and sales departments of manufacturing companies, are usually not included in commerce in the narrow sense, even though they are engaged in buying and selling of goods.

In contrast, in the broad sense of commerce, the entire social distribution of goods is considered commerce, and it is not limited to merchants or to the buying and selling of goods. Commerce naturally includes not only the buying and selling of goods by merchants, but also the distribution activities of consumer cooperatives, agricultural cooperatives, and fishery cooperatives, the purchasing and sales activities of the purchasing and sales departments of manufacturing companies, and the financial, insurance, transportation, warehousing, advertising, information processing, and trading industries that provide services to facilitate the social distribution of goods. In addition, exchanges, central wholesale markets, foreign exchange markets, and financial markets, which are important foundations for social distribution, must also be considered as part of commerce. In this way, it can be understood that the scope and content of commerce in the broad sense is not only broad and diverse, but also becomes more and more expanded and complex with the development of the economy and internationalization and informatization. Looking at this from the other side, it shows that a system is needed to accurately grasp the diverse types of commerce. The basic framework of this system is a method of dividing commerce in the broad sense into two categories: that which is directly involved in the distribution of goods, and that which promotes and assists in this function. The former are called pure commerce, direct commerce, core commerce, and proper commerce, while the latter are called auxiliary commerce, indirect commerce, and auxiliary commerce businesses. Commerce in the narrow sense primarily captures the individual economic portion of the former category run by merchants. Here we will discuss commerce in the broad sense.

[Mitsuo Morimoto]

Commercial Functions

From the perspective of the national economy, commerce fulfills three functions in the circulation of goods: physical circulation, guidance of production and consumption, and the formation and adjustment of prices. These can be summarized as the intermediary adjustment of production and consumption, but if these basic functions are reorganized from a different perspective, there are five functions: personnel adjustment, location adjustment, time adjustment, quantity adjustment, and quality adjustment of production and consumption.

(1) The human adjustment function is the function of mediating and connecting producers and consumers, whose mutually unknown relationship is deepening more and more due to the progress of the social division of labor. Without commerce, producers would have to search for consumers who want their products, and consumers would have to search for producers of the goods they need, but in today's world where both production and consumption have become diversified, this has become impossible.

(2) The spatial adjustment function is the function of transporting goods from the place of production to the place of consumption and providing them to consumers when the places of production and consumption are spatially distant. In primary industries such as agriculture, forestry, and fishing, the place of production is determined by natural conditions, so this function is inherently necessary for their products. The same is true for industry, where the weight of production-oriented locations is overwhelming and the distance from the place of consumption tends to be far. International trade is the cross-border manifestation of this function.

(3) The time adjustment function is the function of smoothly mediating the temporal gap between production and consumption through storage (keeping) in the case of goods that are produced seasonally and consumed throughout the year, such as agricultural products, and conversely, goods that are produced throughout the year and consumed intensively during the season, such as fuel and chemical fertilizers, thereby balancing the interests of production and consumption.

(4) The quantitative adjustment function is the function of successively dividing mass-produced goods into small consumption units, or of successively collecting goods that are dispersed and produced in small quantities, such as agricultural products, and consolidating them into large trading units.

(5) The quality adjustment function refers to the function of mutually adjusting the variety and quality of goods supplied by producers and the goods desired by consumers by sorting, selecting, grading, etc. according to certain standards. For this purpose, goods are graded according to their shape, size, appearance, ingredients, functions, etc., to smooth the supply and demand relationship. Depending on the type of product, sorting and mixing are also carried out.

As mentioned above, the view that commercial functions are divided into five functions is rather traditional. In contrast, a relatively new view sees the essential function of commercial activities as marketing, and divides it into three functions: exchange function, physical supply function, and auxiliary promotion function. According to this view, the first exchange function consists of selling, which creates demand, and purchasing, which creates supply, to gather goods. The purpose of selling is to find a market or demand where sellers can sell their goods at a favorable price and supply the goods there, while the purpose of purchasing is to acquire goods that meet the type, quality, and quantity required by consumers at a reasonable price and supply them to consumers at an appropriate time and place. The second physical supply function is the transfer of goods as an entity from producers to consumers, and its main contents are transportation and storage. Transportation is the physical and spatial movement of products from the place of production to the place of consumption, and storage is the temporal retention of products from the time of production to the time of consumption. The reason for the existence of commercial activities is that the value of products increases through transportation and storage.

The above two functions are equivalent in content to the five functions in the traditional understanding. The third auxiliary promotion function includes finance, risk bearing, and standardization, which are essential for marketing. Finance here refers to smoothly linking and supporting production and consumption by lending funds to producers, making payments in advance, or providing credit to consumers in the form of credit sales or installment payments. Risk bearing refers to bearing losses that occur during the distribution process, such as fluctuations in market prices, outdated fashion, fire, sinking, deterioration, and shrinkage, or spreading out such risks, and insurance is a concrete method of this. Standardization is equivalent to the quality adjustment (function) mentioned above, and refers to organizing, selecting, and grading various varieties and qualities according to certain standards.

[Mitsuo Morimoto]

Business Type

Types of direct business

The expansion of commercial activities accompanying economic progress has led to the specialization of commercial functions, the basis of which is the differentiation of retailers and wholesalers in direct commerce.

Retailers are located at the end of the distribution channel and sell goods directly to end consumers. Their functions include (1) supplying goods that consumers want at the time and place they want, (2) dividing large quantities of goods into smaller consumption units, (3) providing various services to consumers such as credit sales, delivery, and after-sales service, and (4) providing information about goods to consumers through advertising and other means, while also feeding back information about consumer needs to producers. Types of retailers by type include general stores, unit stores, specialty stores, department stores, chain stores, mail order sales, nonstore sales, consumer cooperatives, daily necessities retail markets, supermarkets, convenience stores, street vendors, and peddlers (door-to-door sales).

A general store is a retailer that sells a wide variety of everyday goods in small quantities in an unsystematic manner. A unit store, also called an independent retailer, is the most common type of retailer that sells a specific type of goods. Examples include butchers, greengrocers, and pharmacies. Among unit stores, those that focus on luxury or fashionable goods are distinguished as specialized stores. Examples include fur stores and jewelry stores.

Department stores are mass-selling retailers that systematically divide and display a wide variety of large quantities of goods into departments, and are equipped with spacious buildings, modern sales methods (display sales, fixed price sales, removal or exchange of unsatisfactory goods, free delivery, quality assurance, information desks, etc.), and ancillary facilities (theaters, exhibition halls, entertainment facilities, cafeterias, etc.).

A chain store is a retailer that manages many retail stores under a unified strategy, with the intention of integrating the effects of centralizing purchasing and storage and the effects of decentralized sales. A regular chain is one in which all stores are owned by one company, while a voluntary chain is one that is an association of many independent stores. A franchise chain (contract chain) is one in which a parent company (franchisor) that has a franchise (privilege) for a specific product grants exclusive regional sales rights to the independent stores (franchisees) that participate in the chain, provides various guidance and services, and collects special fees in return.

Mail order sales is a retail method in which products are advertised in newspapers, magazines, radio, television, catalogs, direct mail, etc., and orders are received from consumers in far-flung locations by telephone, post, e-mail, facsimile, etc., and then delivered. Non-store sales is a method in which products are sold without having a specific store, but by renting a meeting hall or hotel for a certain period of time to gather customers. Mail order sales are sometimes included in this category.

A consumer association is a non-profit, mutual aid retailer that is organized so that consumers can cooperatively obtain the daily necessities they need at low prices. In Japan, it takes the form of a consumer cooperative (co-op). A daily necessities retail market is a public building that houses many retail stores and sells mainly daily necessities under public management and supervision.

A supermarket is a large-scale retail store that primarily sells food and daily necessities and is based on self-service, cash sales, and low prices. Stores that sell a large proportion of clothing are sometimes called superstores. Large supermarkets are also sometimes called mass retailers. Small stores that follow the supermarket format but offer convenience that large stores cannot offer are called convenience stores. They are sometimes referred to as mini-supermarkets. Convenience refers to location (easy transportation), opening hours (open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year), and product lineup (focusing on highly necessary daily necessities).

Street vending is a form of selling in which goods are lined up on the roadside or in a square, while peddling (door-to-door sales) is a form of selling in which a merchant (salesperson) travels around to homes and workplaces to solicit and sell goods.

The trend of retailers can be summarized as the rise of mass retailers and the associated need for pawn shops. Mass retailers such as supermarkets and home appliance specialty stores have changed our lives and cultures and brought innovation to commerce by selling large quantities at low prices, but at the same time they have created many problems. In terms of life and culture, they contributed to quantitative improvement, but as this trend subsided, consumers soon began to have a qualitative orientation, and mass retailers themselves were required to change direction. This meant emphasizing the quality of products and emphasizing individuality to differentiate themselves from other stores. On the other hand, supermarkets, which had overwhelmed department stores, began to pursue characteristics similar to those of department stores. The term pawn shop has also emerged to express this trend. Another problem is the disruption of the existing order caused by the rise of new types of retailers such as mass retailers, and in response to this, laws such as the Large-Scale Retail Store Location Law (abbreviated as the Large-Scale Retail Store Location Law, Law No. 91 of 1998) and the Law on Specified Commercial Transactions (abbreviated as the Specified Commercial Transactions Law, Law No. 57 of 1976) have been established.

Wholesalers are direct merchants other than retailers. Wholesalers also differentiate with the development of the economy, but their content is not uniform, depending on the type of goods being distributed. A commonly used classification of wholesalers is the functional classification, which divides them into three categories: collector wholesalers, relay wholesalers, and dispersed wholesalers.

A collecting wholesaler is one who collects goods in the production area, such as a local wholesaler or local broker. An intermediate wholesaler is one who is located in a distribution area and acts as an intermediary between the collection and distribution of goods, such as an urban wholesaler. A dispersed wholesaler is one who supplies goods to retailers in consumption areas. In this classification, only the last type, dispersed wholesalers, is often considered to be a wholesaler.

The second way of classifying wholesalers is to divide them into four categories according to their position in the distribution channel: wholesalers as sales agents, wholesalers at central wholesale markets, intermediate wholesalers, and wholesalers as importers and exporters. Wholesalers as sales agents, also called original wholesalers, take on all of the products produced by manufacturers and sell them mainly to intermediate wholesalers. Middlemen at central wholesale markets can be considered wholesalers who handle large-scale transactions, but their main function is to determine fair prices. Intermediate wholesalers purchase goods from original wholesalers and sell them to retailers, and this is what is generally referred to as a wholesaler. Export-importers (traders) are a type of wholesaler who purchase large quantities of goods domestically and sell them abroad, or purchase them abroad and sell them domestically, and in some cases purchase and sell between third countries.

[Mitsuo Morimoto]

Types of indirect business

Indirect trade consists of institutional trade, which facilitates commodity trading activities, and commercial support institutions, which provide further support to the goods trading industry and institutional trade.

Institutional commerce includes finance, securities, insurance, transportation, warehousing, communications, and information processing. The finance industry, along with the securities industry, contributes to the supply of funds necessary for the circulation of goods and to the exchange and settlement of business relationships. The securities industry, which is part of institutional commerce, also includes stock exchanges. The insurance industry covers various economic risks associated with the circulation of goods. The transportation industry, along with the warehousing industry, is responsible for the physical circulation of goods, and actually carries out the spatial and temporal coordination functions of commerce. The warehousing industry, which is part of institutional commerce, refers only to commercial warehouses, excluding private warehouses. The communications industry is responsible for the delivery and transmission of information necessary for the circulation of goods, and promotes commercial functions. This includes not only telegraph and telephone services, but also postal and broadcasting services. With the development of communications technology and the liberalization of communications in the 1990s, value-added information networks that not only deliver information via the Internet, but also process and supply information content in response to needs, have rapidly become widespread. These are sometimes called information processing industries, but their content is still fluid and flexible.

[Mitsuo Morimoto]

Commercial Grant Agency

An organization that aims to improve and develop commerce as a whole in a broad sense. Examples include trade associations, chambers of commerce, chambers of commerce, commercial credit agencies, commercial guidance centers, product display halls, product halls, trade fairs, product inspection centers, and the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO). Of these, the chambers of commerce, chambers of commerce, commercial guidance centers, some product inspection centers, and JETRO are public organizations. For example, the chamber of commerce is a non-profit corporate organization of merchants and industrialists that, in principle, operates within a city, and provides a wide range of support for commercial activities, including certifying, appraising, and inspecting products and business operations, certifying the country of origin of exported goods, hosting and arranging trade fairs, mediating and intermediating commercial transactions, mediating, conciliating, and arbitrating trade disputes, and providing consultation and guidance.

[Mitsuo Morimoto]

Commercial development

The primitive form of commerce is exchange, but in primitive and ancient times, it was not necessarily paid or of equal value. There were three types: reciprocity (gifts), redistribution (sharing of acquired goods), and market circulation, but the third is the direct source of commerce. When economic surplus and scarcity arise, exchange spreads from within tribes to between tribes. Before the Common Era, Phoenicians, Arabs, Syrians, and Jews were already trading in wine, olive oil, textiles, and precious metals. Later, during the Greek and Roman eras, active trade developed along the Mediterranean coast, and markets began to open in various places.

The medieval European economy revolved around manors. Manors were self-sufficient economic entities for kings, nobles, and monasteries, but commerce was conducted as exchanges between manors. Merchants were mostly foreigners such as Vikings, but they opened markets such as messes (large fairs) under the control of the king, and paid taxes in return for being given exclusive business privileges. Commerce at that time mainly took the form of merchants cooperating with transport companies, especially shipping companies, and capitalists, and was basically retail trade.

In the late Middle Ages, Italy flourished as a center of trade with the East, producing many wealthy people like the Fugger family. Their achievements prompted a shift from commerce, which had been based on the traditional principle of subsistence and family life, to commerce based on the principle of profitability centered on the pursuit of profit. At the same time, commerce, which had previously been considered a parasitic existence on society, began to be properly evaluated as an industry with productive functions. When this ideology was linked to national policy, it emerged as mercantilism, a commercial-oriented approach that believed that encouraging exports, discouraging imports, and accumulating specie were in the national interest.

For mercantilism to develop, it was necessary to promote domestic industry with the aim of improving the trade balance in order to acquire foreign currency, as typified by the French monarch Colbert, and as part of this, commerce also underwent major changes. The biggest change was the differentiation of retail and wholesale. Retail, which had previously been mainly handled by transport companies, was refined into retail with the emergence of wholesalers, who were solely responsible for the accumulation and dispersion of goods and the risk of distribution. Wholesalers also became specialized, with agents such as wholesalers and middlemen. A major factor in promoting the development of this differentiation of commerce was the spread of companies, particularly joint-stock companies, which replaced the traditional associations.

The Industrial Revolution shifted economic dominance from commerce to manufacturing, but the dramatic increase in industrial production led to the development of commerce itself. On the one hand, commerce promoted horizontal specialization, such as the diversification of retailers, while on the other hand, it deepened vertical differentiation, such as the multi-layering of wholesalers. In the retail industry, general stores gave way to individual stores, and specialized stores also appeared in some areas. Particularly important was the emergence of department stores in Europe and the United States in the mid-19th century, which marked the beginning of modern commerce.

The Industrial Revolution also produced a large number of poor workers, and consumer cooperatives emerged as organizations for their self-protection. The first was the Rochdale Consumers' Cooperative in England (1844). As the 20th century approached, mail-order stores appeared. Sears, Roebuck is a famous example of a company that started out as a mail-order store and later grew into a huge retailer with a chain of department stores. It was not until the 1920s that chain stores themselves became widespread.

After World War II, widespread innovations in distribution took place, and mass retailers, particularly supermarkets, became the dominant form of commerce. However, the diversification of human desires that comes with increased affluence has called for the affirmation of the existence of a wide variety of commerce forms and a shift to a quality-centered approach.

The rapid development of information technology (IT) at the end of the 20th century gave rise to commerce that cannot be explained or organized using traditional concepts, such as the opening of online "markets."

[Mitsuo Morimoto]

Japanese commerce

The emergence of commerce

The Yamato word for commerce is "aki-nai," which has its origin in the exchange of autumn harvests. Social exchange is thought to have begun when surplus products arose due to progress in agriculture, which was the first major industry. Although the exact time is unclear, the existence of markets is recorded in the Gishiwajinden (late 3rd century), and the Nihon Shoki (7th-8th century) also indicates that markets were held in Yamato and other places. From these facts, it is certain that commercial activities began in the form of markets, and the reason for this is thought to be that exchanges could be carried out advantageously in public. With the Taika Reforms (7th century), markets were institutionalized, and eastern and western markets were established in Fujiwara-kyo, Heijo-kyo, and Heian-kyo, as well as in each of the local provincial capitals. These markets were established primarily for the government to handle goods collected as rent (tax paid in the form of agricultural products), yo (cloth), and cho (regional specialty products), or for aristocrats to handle surplus salaries, and it is difficult to say that full-scale commerce was established there. The first coins minted are said to have been the Wadōkaichin (Wado kaichō) coins of 708 (Wado 1), but circulation was not sufficient. This can be said to be one of the factors that delayed the establishment of full-scale commerce, but it is noteworthy that traveling merchants who distributed goods from the capital to the provinces appeared. In the Heian period, as the manor system developed and the provinces were developed, markets began to spread widely throughout the country.

[Mitsuo Morimoto]

City and Theatre Business

During the Middle Ages, from the Kamakura Period to the Warring States Period, commerce was fully established as a business. Its foundations were the markets and za. First, markets appeared in local areas where people could make a day trip, then they became periodic markets and the number of days they were held increased, approaching permanent markets. In connection with this, permanent stores began to appear. Using the markets as a base, merchants who worked as side jobs in the countryside were born, and the commodity economy spread to the regions. This type of commerce was further developed by privileged groups of the same trade called za. The relationship between za and commerce began when the za of nobles and shrines and temples were given privileges for handling surpluses, and as it became more and more prosperous, peddlers joined these za, and it developed into merchants forming their own za. The privileges of za included exemption from business tax, exclusive rights to certain goods, and peddling rights in a certain area. As the Warring States Period approached, za, which were subordinate to nobles and shrines and temples, began to shed their skin and become za formed only by merchants, and za based on various industries and occupations also appeared. Along with these developments, the differentiation of commercial functions progressed, with the separation of production and distribution, wholesale and retail, and a wholesale advance system for producers. The expansion of commercial areas became evident, with markets and permanent stores concentrating in cities and large settlements, and in the Kinki region in particular, a kind of wide-area market was formed with Kyoto, Nara, Tennoji, and Sakai as its bases. The za operated the wide-area market through their privileges and various forms of interaction. Eventually, the za's control over the market came into conflict with the interests of the Sengoku daimyo who were promoting industry within their territories, and they were dismantled by the Rakuichi (Free Markets) and Rakuza (Free Markets) orders issued by Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi.

[Mitsuo Morimoto]

Early Modern Urban Commerce

The separation of soldiers, farmers, and merchants by Nobunaga and Hideyoshi, and the feudal domain system of the Edo Shogunate led to the flourishing of urban commerce in castle towns. In addition, the Shogunate developed a nationwide commercial network connecting the three major cities of Edo, Osaka, and Kyoto with each castle town, and the urban commerce of each domain began to function as a hub for national distribution. Specifically, the functions of collecting and converting rice tax from the storehouses of each domain, collecting and distributing daily necessities, and procuring and supplying high-end industrial products and raw materials were carried out by merchants who specialized into wholesalers and retailers. The markets where they were active expanded from retail markets to wholesale markets, and further developed into not only spot markets but also futures speculation markets based on brand names, as seen in the rice market in Osaka. This expansion of markets led to wholesalers' control of distribution, and wholesalers came to play the central role of stock associations made up of merchants and industrialists. However, due to the delay in industrial development caused by the country's isolation, wholesalers never transformed into industrial capital, and at best remained at the stage of wholesale-based cottage industries.

[Mitsuo Morimoto]

The development of modern commerce

The collapse of the feudal domain system due to the Meiji Restoration removed the pillars of early modern commerce such as storehouses and stock associations, and commerce temporarily declined. However, from the mid-Meiji period onwards, as industrialization progressed, modern commerce was needed to supply raw materials for industrial production and distribute the products in large quantities both domestically and internationally, and the government also took measures for this purpose, so commerce was revived. Reasons for its modernity include the fact that commerce was carried out by companies, the content of commerce was organically combined with various auxiliary businesses (finance, insurance, warehousing, transportation, communication, etc.) centered on commodity distribution, and the dramatic expansion of markets, including foreign trade. In addition, laws were established to ensure the smooth functioning of commerce, and based on these laws, exchanges and central wholesale markets were established, and large-scale stores such as department stores began to appear in retail, which had previously been dominated by small-scale businesses. Western-style department stores such as Mitsukoshi (1904), Takashimaya (1907), Matsuzakaya (1908), Matsuya (1908), and Daimaru (1908), which were former kimono shops, appeared in Japan about half a century later than in the West. In this way, modern commerce took root in Japan.

[Mitsuo Morimoto]

"Modern Commerce, Yoshihiro Okamoto, revised second edition (2003, Hakuto Shobo)" ▽ "General Theory of Commerce, edited by Ryusuke Kubomura, 7th edition (2009, Dobunkan Publishing)" ▽ "History of Japanese Commerce, by Teiichiro Fujita, Mataro Miyamoto, and Akira Hasegawa (Yuhikaku Shinsho)"

Fukuoka City as seen in the "Eden of Ippen Shonin"
A market in Fukuoka-sho, Bizen Province, during the Kamakura period. Temporary market huts are built across the road. From the left in the back, there is a cloth hut, a rice hut, and a fish and bird hut. A copy of "Ippen Shonin E-den" (Eden of Ippen Shonin), owned by the National Diet Library .

Fukuoka City as seen in the "Eden of Ippen Shonin"

Dojima Rice Market
The Dojima rice market was the center of rice trading in Osaka during the Edo period. It was bustling with many merchants, and the Mizukata actor sprinkled water to those who remained even after the transaction was over and urged them to leave. The painting of Utagawa Hiroshige, "Naniwa Famous Shows: Doshima Rice Free," held by the National Diet Library ">

Dojima Rice Market

Mitsukoshi Kimono Store
Surugacho, Nihonbashi-ku (now Nihonbashi Muromachi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo). "Tokyo Scenery" (1911, Meiji 44)) Collection of the National Diet Library ">

Mitsukoshi Kimono Store

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

Japanese:

商品の売買に関する経済活動の総称。商業の意義と実態は、経済の発展につれてかなり変化してきているが、商業には基本的に広狭二義がある。広義の商業は、生産者から消費者への財貨の社会的流通に関する諸活動、生産および消費に関する情報を提供してそれらを指導する活動、価格を形成しあるいは調整する活動、流通活動を効率化するための促進的補助活動などをすべて包含し、生産・流通・消費にまたがる流通経済現象を経済循環の視点からとらえた全領域をもって商業とする。これに対して狭義の商業は、商品流通のなかの財貨売買のみをもって商業とし、かつ個々の主体（商人）の営利目的追求として営まれる個別経済現象の視点から、それを取り上げる。日常用語としての商業は狭義に用いられることが多いが、商業学、経済学、マーケティング論などの学問上では、むしろ広義の商業が一般的である。また、流通のシステム化、経営の多角化などにより、狭義の商業を純粋に取り出すことは、実態的にも困難になりつつある。

［森本三男］

狭義・広義の商業の実態

狭義の商業は商人による財貨（商品）売買活動のみをいうから、この意味の商業は、農業、林業、漁業、鉱業、工業などと並立する。また、財貨売買活動に深く関係し、それを促進助成している金融業、運送業、保険業、倉庫業などは、狭義の商業には含まれない。さらに、財貨売買活動であっても、商人によらないものは、狭義の商業には含まれない。たとえば、消費者が自己の消費する消費財を廉価で購入するために自ら組織した消費生活協同組合（生協）、農業生産者が自己の使用する農機具、肥料、日用雑貨などを共同で購入したり、農産物を出荷するために組織した農業協同組合（農協）、製造会社の購買部門や販売部門などは、財貨売買活動を営んでいるにもかかわらず、通常、狭義の商業に含めない。

　これに対して、広義の商業では、財貨の社会的流通活動の全体をもって商業とするから、それを営む主体を商人に限定したり、活動内容を財貨売買だけに限定することはしない。商人による財貨売買業はもとより、消費生活協同組合・農業協同組合・漁業協同組合の行う流通活動、製造会社の購買部門や販売部門の行う仕入れ・販売活動、財貨の社会的流通を円滑にするためのサービスを提供する金融業、保険業、運送業、倉庫業、広告宣伝業、情報処理業、貿易業なども、当然に商業に含まれることになる。また、社会的流通の重要な基盤となる取引所、中央卸売市場(おろしうりしじょう)、為替(かわせ)市場、金融市場なども、商業のなかに取り入れて考えなければならなくなる。このようにみるならば、広義の商業の範囲と内容は、単に広範・多岐であるばかりでなく、経済の発展と国際化・情報化とともにいっそう拡大・複雑化していくことが理解できる。このことを反面からみれば、多彩な商業を的確に掌握するための体系が必要になることを物語っている。このような体系の基本枠は、広義の商業を、商品の流通機能に直接関与するものと、それを促進援助するものとに大きく二分する方法である。前者を純粋商業、直接商業、基幹商業、固有商業などと、後者を補助商業、間接商業、商業補助業などとよぶ。狭義の商業は、前者のうち商人による個別経済部分を主としてとらえていることになる。ここでは広義の商業について述べる。

［森本三男］

商業の機能

国民経済の視点からみると、商業は財貨流通について、物的流通、生産と消費の指導、価格の形成・調整の3機能を果たしている。これらは、生産と消費の媒介的調整に集約されるが、このような基本機能をこれとは別の視点で再整理すると、生産と消費の人的調整、場所的調整、時間的調整、数量的調整、および品質的調整の5機能になる。

(1)人的調整機能とは、社会的分業の進展によって相互にますます未知の関係が深まっていく生産者と消費者とを、媒介して連結する作用である。商業がなければ、生産者は自己の生産物を希求している消費者を、消費者は自己の必要とする財貨の生産者を、それぞれ自ら探さなければならないが、生産・消費ともに多様化した今日では、それは不可能になっている。

(2)場所的調整機能とは、生産地と消費地が空間的に遠隔である場合、生産地から消費地へ財貨を運搬して消費者に提供する機能である。農・林・漁業のような第一次産業は、自然的条件によって生産地が規定されるから、それらの生産物にとってこの機能は本来的に必要である。工業についても生産本位の立地の比重は圧倒的であり、消費地との距離は遠くなる傾向にあるから、やはり事情は同じである。国際貿易は、この機能の国境を越えた現れである。

(3)時間的調整機能とは、農産物のように季節的に生産されて一年中消費されるものや、その反対に一年中生産されて季節的に集中消費される燃料や化学肥料のような財貨について、生産と消費の時間的な隔たりを、貯蔵（保管）によって円滑に媒介し、生産と消費の利害を両立させる機能である。

(4)数量的調整機能とは、大量生産された財貨を少量の小口消費単位に逐次分割したり、農産物のように分散して少量ずつ生産された財貨を逐次集荷によって大口の取引単位にまとめあげたりする機能である。

(5)品質調整機能とは、生産者の供給する財貨と消費者の希求する財貨の内容について、品種や品質の多様性を一定の基準によって整理し、選別し、等級をつけるなどして相互に調整する機能をいう。このため、財貨の形状・寸法・外観・成分・作用などによって格付け等級化を行い、需給関係を円滑化する。また商品の種類によっては、選別や混合が行われる。

　以上のように、商業の機能を五つの機能でとらえる立場は、どちらかといえば伝統的である。これに対して、比較的新しい立場には、商業の本質的機能をマーケティングに求め、その内容を交換機能、物的供給機能および補助的促進機能に三分する説もある。この説によれば、第一の交換機能とは、需要創造である販売と供給創造としての買い集めのための購買からなる。販売の目的は、売り手がもっている財貨を有利な価格で販売しうるような市場ないし需要を発見して、そこに財貨を供給することであり、購買の目的は、消費者の求める種類・品質・数量の条件を満たす財貨を妥当な価格で取得し、適当な時期と場所で消費者に供給することである。第二の物的供給機能とは、生産者から消費者に実体としての財貨を移転することであり、運送と保管とがその主内容になる。運送は生産地から消費地まで生産物を物理的・空間的に移動することであり、保管とは生産の時期から消費の時期まで生産物を時間的に保持することをいう。運送と保管により生産物の価値が高まるところに、商業の存在理由がある。

　以上の二つの機能は、伝統的理解の五つの機能と内容的に等しい。第三の補助的促進機能は、マーケティングに不可欠な金融、危険負担および標準化を内容としている。ここでいう金融とは、生産者に資金を融通したり代金を前払いし、あるいは消費者に掛売り、分割払いなどの形で信用を供与することによって、生産と消費を円滑に連結しそれらを助成することをいう。危険負担とは、市価の変動、流行遅れ、火災、沈没、変質、目減りなど流通過程で生じる損失を負担し、あるいはそれらの危険を拡散させることであり、保険がその具体的な方法となる。標準化とは、前述の品質調整（機能）に等しく、多様な品種や品質を一定の基準によって整理し、選別し、等級をつけることなどをいう。

［森本三男］

商業の種類

直接商業の種類

経済の進歩に伴う商業活動の広範囲化により、商業機能の専門分化が生じる。その基本は、直接商業における小売商と卸売商の分化である。

　小売商は、流通経路の末端に位置し、最終消費者に直接に対面して財貨の販売を行う。その機能には、(1)消費者の需要する財貨を消費者の求める時と場所で供給する、(2)大口の財貨を小口の消費単位に分割する、(3)掛売り・配達・アフターサービスなど、消費者に対し種々のサービスを提供する、(4)広告・宣伝などにより財貨に関する情報を消費者に提供し、他方、消費者のニーズに関する情報を生産者にフィードバックする、などがある。小売商の形態別種類としては、よろず屋、単位商店、専門店、百貨店、チェーン・ストア（連鎖店）、通信販売、無店舗販売、消費組合、日用品小売市場、スーパーマーケット、コンビニエンス・ストア、露天商、行商（訪問販売）などがある。

　よろず屋は、多種類の日用財貨を少量ずつ無体系に販売する小売商である。単位商店はまた独立小売店ともよばれ、特定の種類の財貨を販売するもっとも普通の小売商である。肉屋、八百屋(やおや)、薬屋などがこれである。単位商店のうち、高級品や流行品に焦点をあてた財貨を扱うものを、とくに専門店とよんで区別する。毛皮店、宝飾店などはこの例である。

　百貨店は、多種類かつ大量の財貨を体系的に部門化して陳列し、広壮な建物、近代的な販売方法（陳列販売、正札販売、不満足品の引き取りまたは取り替え、無料配達、品質保証、案内所設置など）、および付帯施設（劇場、展示会場、娯楽設備、食堂など）を完備して、大量販売を行う小売商である。

　チェーン・ストアは、多数の小売店舗が統一的戦略のもとに管理され、仕入れと保管を集中する効果および分散販売する効果を統合しようとする意図をもった小売商である。全店舗が一企業の所有下にあるものをレギュラー・チェーン（正規連鎖店）、多数の独立店舗の連合体であるものをボランタリー・チェーン（任意連鎖店）という。また、特定の商品についてフランチャイズ（特権）をもつ親企業（フランチャイザー）が、チェーンに参加する独立店（フランチャイジー）に対し地域的独占販売権を与え、各種の指導・サービスを提供し、その反対給付として特約料を徴収するようなものをフランチャイズ・チェーン（契約チェーン）という。

　通信販売は、新聞、雑誌、ラジオ、テレビジョン、カタログ、ダイレクト・メールなどで広告し、遠隔地に散在する消費者から電話、郵便、電子メール、ファクシミリなどで注文を受け、財貨を配送する小売り方法である。無店舗販売は、店舗を特定して保有せず、一定期間だけ集会場・ホテルなどを借用して客を集め、商品を販売する方法である。通信販売をこれに含めることもある。

　消費組合は、消費者が自己の必要とする日用生活品を協同で安価に入手するために組織する非営利・互助的な小売商である。日本では、消費生活協同組合（生協）の形態をとる。日用品小売市場は、公設の建物の中に多数の小売店舗を収容し、公的な管理・監督の下に日用品を主体にした商品の販売を行わせるものである。

　スーパーマーケットは、食料品や日用品を中心にしたセルフサービス、現金販売、廉価販売を原則とする大規模小売店である。衣料品の比重の高いものをとくにスーパー・ストアということもある。大手スーパーマーケットのことを量販店とよぶこともある。スーパーマーケット形式ではあるが、大規模店では提供できない便利さ（コンビニエンス）を提供する小型のものをコンビニエンス・ストアという。ミニ・スーパーと俗称されることもある。その便利さとは、立地（交通至便）、時間（年中無休・24時間営業）、品ぞろえ（必要度の高い日用品に集中）などをいう。

　露天商は、道端や広場などに商品を並べて販売する形式であり、行商（訪問販売）は、商人（販売員）が家庭や職場を巡回して商品を勧誘し販売する形式をいう。

　小売商の動向は、量販店の隆盛とそれに連動して考えられる質販店の必要に集約される。スーパーマーケットや家庭電器専門店のような量販店は、大量廉価販売で生活と文化を改変し、商業に革新をもたらしたが、同時に多くの問題をも生み出した。生活と文化の面では、量的向上に寄与したが、その一段落とともにやがて消費者の質的志向を生み出し、量販店自体の方向転換が求められるようになった。それは、商品の品質重視、他店との差別化のための個性強調である。他方、百貨店を圧倒したスーパーマーケットが、百貨店に近い特性を追うような現象がみられるようになった。このような傾向を表現して、質販店という用語も現れてきた。もう一つの問題は、量販店などの新種小売商の台頭による既成秩序の混乱であり、これに対応して「大規模小売店舗立地法」（略称大店立地法、平成10年法律第91号）、「特定商取引に関する法律」（略称特定商取引法、昭和51年法律第57号）などが整備されている。

　卸売商は、小売商以外の直接商業をいう。卸売商もまた経済の発達とともに分化するが、その内容は流通する商品の種類に左右され、一様ではない。一般に用いられる卸売商の分類としては、収集卸売商、中継(なかつぎ)卸売商、分散卸売商に三分する機能的分類法がある。

　収集卸売商とは、産地問屋・産地仲買人のように、生産地にあって財貨の収集を行うものをいう。中継卸売商とは、都市問屋のように、集散地にあって財貨の収集と分散を媒介的に結合するものをいう。分散卸売商とは、消費地にあって小売商に対し財貨を供給するものをいう。この分類の場合、最後の分散卸売商のみが卸売商と解されることが多い。

　卸売商の第二の分類方法は、流通経路上の地位に応じて、販売代理店としての卸売商、中央卸売市場の卸売商、仲(なか)卸売商、輸出入商としての卸売商に四分するものである。販売代理店としての卸売商は、元(もと)卸売商ともよばれ、製造業者の生産物を一手に引き受けて、主として仲卸売商に販売する。中央卸売市場の仲買人は大口の取引をする卸売商とみなすことができるが、その中心機能は公正な価格の形成である。仲卸売商は、元卸売商から仕入れて小売商に販売するもので、一般にいう卸売商はこれである。輸出入商（貿易商）は、大口の財貨を国内で仕入れて外国へ販売し、あるいは外国で仕入れて国内で販売し、場合によっては第三国間で仕入れ販売を行う一種の卸売商である。

［森本三男］

間接商業の種類

間接商業は、商品売買活動を円滑に行わせるための機関商業と、財貨売買業および機関商業をさらに支援する商業助成機関とからなっている。

　機関商業には、金融業、証券業、保険業、運送業、倉庫業、通信業、情報処理業がある。金融業は証券業とともに財貨流通に必要な資金の供給と取引関係の為替(かわせ)・決済に寄与する。なお機関商業としての証券業には証券取引所も含まれる。保険業は、財貨流通に伴う各種の経済的危険をカバーする。運送業は倉庫業とともに、財貨の物的流通を担当し、商業の場所的調整機能および時間的調整機能を現実に遂行する。なお、機関商業としての倉庫業は、自家用倉庫を除く営業倉庫のみをいう。通信業は、財貨流通に必要な情報の送達・伝播(でんぱ)を担当し、商業機能を促進する。これには、電信・電話業はもとより、郵便・放送業も含まれる。1990年代の通信技術の発達と通信の自由化により、インターネットによって単に情報を送達するのみでなく、情報内容をニーズにこたえて加工して供給する付加価値情報ネットワークが急速に普及してきた。これらを情報処理業とよぶことがあるが、その内容はまだ流動的・弾力的である。

［森本三男］

商業助成機関

広義の商業全体の改善・発達を図るための機関である。業者団体、商工会議所、商工会、商業興信所、商工指導所、商品陳列館、物産館、見本市、商品検査所、日本貿易振興機構（ジェトロ）などがこれである。これらのうち、商工会議所、商工会、商工指導所、商品検査所の一部、ジェトロは公的な機関である。たとえば商工会議所は、原則として市を地区とする商工業者の非営利法人組織で、商品や事業内容の証明・鑑定・検査、輸出品の原産地証明、見本市の開催・斡旋(あっせん)、商事取引の仲介・斡旋、取引紛争の斡旋・調停・仲裁、相談・指導など、広範に商業活動を支援する。

［森本三男］

商業の発達

商業の原始形態は交換であるが、原始時代、古代のそれは、かならずしも有償・等価とは限らず、互恵（贈与）、再配分（獲得物分配）、市場流通の三者があったが、第三のものが商業の直接源流になる。経済的余剰と希少性とが生じると、部族内から部族間へ交換が広まる。西暦紀元前、すでにフェニキア人、アラビア人、シリア人、ユダヤ人などは、ぶどう酒、オリーブ油、織物、貴金属などの通商を行っていた。その後、ギリシア・ローマ時代には、地中海沿岸で活発な貿易通商が展開され、各地に市(いち)が開かれるようになる。

　中世のヨーロッパ経済は、荘園(しょうえん)を軸にして動いた。荘園は、王・貴族・僧院の自給自足経済体であるが、荘園間の交換として商業が営まれた。商人はバイキングなど外国人が主であったが、王の統制下にメッセ（大市）などの市場を開設し、独占的営業の特権を与えられる代償として税を納めた。当時の商業は主として、商人が運送業者とくに回漕(かいそう)業者や資本主と協力する形がとられ、基本的には小売商であった。

　中世末期、イタリアは東洋貿易の中心として栄え、フッガー家のような富豪を多数生み出した。彼らの活躍は、従来の生業・家業的生活原理にたつ商業から、営利追求を中心にした収益性原理にたつ商業への脱皮を促す。これとともに、社会への寄生的存在とみなされてきた商業が、生産的機能をもつ産業として正当に評価されるようになっていった。このような思想が国家の政策に結び付いたとき、重商主義（マーカンティリズム）となって現れる。それは、輸出を奨励して輸入を抑制し、正貨を蓄積することが国益になるとの商業重視主義である。

　重商主義の展開のためには、フランスのコルベールに典型的にみられるように、外貨獲得のため貿易収支を改善することを意図した国内産業の振興が必要であり、その一環として商業もまた大きく変容する。その最大のものは、小売業と卸売業の分化である。それまで主として運送業者が担当してきた小売業は、財貨の集積・分散や流通の危険負担をもっぱら担当する卸売業の出現により、小売業に純化する。卸売業もまた、問屋や仲立人などに専門化していく。このような商業の分化による発達を促した大きな要因は、従来の組合組織にかわる会社、とくに株式会社の普及であった。

　産業革命は、経済の主導権を商業から工業に移行させたが、工業生産力の飛躍的増大により、商業自体も発展することになった。商業は一方で小売商の多様化など水平的に特化を進め、他方で卸売商の多層化など垂直的に分化を深めていった。小売業についてみると、よろず屋から単位商店への脱皮が進み、一部には専門店も現れてくる。とくに重要なことは、19世紀中葉の欧米における百貨店の出現であり、これにより近代的商業が幕開きを迎えることになる。

　産業革命はまた多数の貧困労働者を生み出すが、彼らの生活自衛組織として消費組合が現れる。その最初はイギリスのロッチデールの消費組合（1844）である。さらに20世紀に近づくと、通信販売店が登場する。通信販売店として出発し、その後チェーン店方式の百貨店として巨大小売商となったシアーズ・ローバックは有名である。チェーン店そのものが広く普及するのは20世紀10年代以降である。

　第二次世界大戦後、流通革新が幅広く進行し、スーパーマーケットを中心にした量販店が商業の代表的形態になったが、豊かさに伴う人間欲求の多様化は、多種類の商業形態の存在の肯定と質中心への移行を求めている。

　20世紀末の情報技術（IT）の急速な発展は、インターネット上の「市場」の開設のような、旧来の概念では説明・整理のできない商業を生み出した。

［森本三男］

日本の商業

商業の発生

商の大和(やまと)ことばは「あきない」であり、秋の収穫物の交換を語源とする。社会的交換は、最初の主要産業であった農業の進歩により余剰生産物が生じたときに始まったと考えられる。その時代は明確ではないが、『魏志倭人伝(ぎしわじんでん)』（3世紀後半）には市(いち)の存在が記され、『日本書紀』（7～8世紀）にも市が大和などで開かれていたことが示されている。これらの事実から商行為が市の形態をとって始まったことは確かであり、その理由として、交換を公衆の集まるなかで有利に行うためと考えられる。大化改新（7世紀）により、市は制度化され、藤原京、平城京、平安京に東西の市が、地方国府にもそれぞれの市が設けられた。これらの市は、主として政府が、租（農作物で納める税）、庸（同じく布）、調（同じく地方特産物）で収納した物品をさばき、あるいは貴族が給与の余剰を処理するためのものであって、商業が本格的に成立したとはいいがたい。鋳造貨幣の最初は708年（和銅1）の和同開珎(わどうかいちん／わどうかいほう)であるとされているが、流通は十分でなかった。そのことが商業の本格的な成立を遅らせた一因ともいえるが、都から地方へ商品を流通させる行商人が現れたことは注目される。平安時代に入ると、荘園制が発達し、地方の開発が進んで、市は広く各地に普及するようになった。

［森本三男］

市と座の商業

鎌倉時代から戦国時代に至る中世に、商業は本格的に業として成立する。その基盤は、市と座である。まず市は日帰り行程の地域圏に族生するとともに、定期市になり、かつ開催日数が増えて常設市に近づく。これに関連して定住店舗が現れ始める。市を足場に、農閑副業の商人が生まれ、商品経済を地方に浸透させていった。さらにこのような商業を発展させるのが、座とよばれる特権的同業者集団である。座と商業との関係は、公家(くげ)や社寺の座が余剰の処理について特権を与えられたことに始まり、ますます盛んになった行商人がこれらの座に加わり、商人自らが独自の座を形成する形に発展した。座の特権には、営業課税免除、特定物資の専売権、一定地域の行商権などがあった。戦国時代に近づくと、公家・社寺に隷属する座から商人のみで結成する座への脱皮が生じ、さらに各種の業種別、職種別の座も現れてくる。このような動きにつれて、生産と流通の分離、問屋(といや)と小売りの分離、生産者に対する問屋制前貸制度など、商業の機能分化が進行した。商圏の拡大が顕著になり、市や定住店舗は都市や大集落に集中し、とくに近畿では、京都、奈良、天王寺(てんのうじ)、堺(さかい)を拠点とする一種の広域市場が形成されるようになった。座はその特権とさまざまな形での相互作用によって、広域市場を動かしていた。やがて、座による市場支配は戦国大名による領国内の産業振興と利害が衝突するようになり、織田信長と豊臣秀吉(とよとみひでよし)による楽市・楽座令により解体させられるに至る。

［森本三男］

近世都市商業

信長と秀吉による兵農商業分離政策と江戸幕府による幕藩体制は、城下町に都市商業を繁栄させることになった。これに幕府による江戸・大坂・京都の三大都市と各城下町とを結ぶ全国的商業網の展開が加わって、各藩の都市商業が全国的流通の結節点として機能するようになった。具体的には、諸藩の蔵(くら)屋敷の年貢米の集中と換金、生活必需品の集散、高級工業製品や原材料の調達と供給などであり、問屋と小売りに分化した商人が、これらの機能を担っていた。彼らの活躍の場である市場(いちば)は、小売市場から卸売市場へと広がり、さらに現物市場のみでなく、大坂の米市場にみられるように、銘柄(めいがら)による先物(さきもの)投機市場へと発展する。このような市場の広がりは、問屋による流通支配を生み出し、商工業者による株仲間の中心的役割を問屋が担うことになった。しかし、鎖国による工業の遅れのため、問屋が産業資本に転化することはなく、せいぜい問屋制家内工業の段階にとどまるだけであった。

［森本三男］

近代的商業の展開

明治維新による幕藩体制の崩壊は、蔵屋敷、株仲間など近世商業を支える柱を取り払い、一時的に商業は衰退する。しかし明治中期以後、工業化が進行するにつれ、工業生産に原材料を供給し、その製品を内外に大量に流通させるための近代的商業が必要になり、政府もまたこのための施策を講じたため、商業は再生する。近代的である理由として、商業の担い手が会社企業によっていること、商業機能の内容が商品流通を中心に、各種補助商業（金融、保険、倉庫、交通、通信など）と有機的に結合したものになったこと、外国貿易を含む市場の飛躍的拡大が生じたことがあげられる。また、商業を円滑に機能させるための法律が整備され、これに基づいて取引所や中央卸売市場が整備され、従来は小規模生業が主体であった小売業にも百貨店のような大規模店が出現するようになった。日本では欧米に比して約半世紀遅れて現れた、三越(みつこし)（1904）、高島屋（1907）、松坂屋（1908）、松屋（1908）、大丸（1908）など旧呉服店系の洋風百貨店である。こうして、日本にも近代的商業が定着する。

［森本三男］

『岡本喜裕著『現代商業学』増訂第2版（2003・白桃書房）』▽『久保村隆祐編『商学通論』7訂版（2009・同文舘出版）』▽『藤田貞一郎・宮本又郎・長谷川彰著『日本商業史』（有斐閣新書）』