Ise merchants

Merchants from Ise (Mie Prefecture) who were active in the commercial world in major cities such as Edo, Osaka, and Kyoto during the Edo period. Ise was the location of the Shinto shrine, and thus an open area for transportation since ancient times. In the Middle Ages, port towns such as Kuwana, Anotsu (Tsu), and Ominato flourished against the backdrop of maritime traffic on Ise Bay, and some of the wholesalers and shipping agents of these port towns traveled as far as the Tokai and Kanto regions. On land, Minami Omi (Shiga Prefecture) and Kita Ise share a border, and Omi merchants traveled actively across the Happu, Chikusa, and Suzuka passes. During the Toyotomi administration, Gamo Ujisato was transferred from Hino in Omi (Hino Town, Gamo County, Shiga Prefecture) to Ise in 1584 (Tensho 12), where he built a castle in Matsugashima (Matsusaka City, Mie Prefecture), but four years later in 1588 he moved his castle to Matsusaka (Matsusaka City) and ran the castle town. At this time, he moved the wealthy merchants of Matsugashima, known as Izukura, Kumozukura, Izawakura, Kamadakura, and Shimokura, to Matsusaka, but at the same time he allowed Hino merchants to move to Ise, which stimulated the activities of Ise merchants, who became even more active. When the Edo Shogunate was established in 1603 (Keicho 8) and the development and construction of the city of Edo got into full swing, Ise merchants also advanced into Edo, transporting local specialties such as cotton and tea. Suzuki (Izugura), one of the Matsusaka storekeepers, and Tomiyama (Daikokuya) of Izawa opened kimono shops around the Genna era (1615-1624), and merchants from Matsusaka, Tsu, and Kuwana followed suit, gaining a firm foothold in Edo's commercial world in the second half of the 17th century. There were so many Ise merchants in Edo that it was said in the Rakuhoshu that "Edo's specialty, Iseya Inari, is dog droppings" and "If you see a curtain hanging outside, half of the town is Iseya" (Rakuhoshu). Famous among the leading merchants were cotton wholesalers such as Kawakita, Ozu, and Hasegawa, who had stores in Odenmacho, Nihonbashi, and although the term "Ise-dana" was taken to refer to the cotton wholesalers in Odenmacho, many others, such as Mitsui (Echigoya), opened kimono shops and money exchange shops in the Nihonbashi Honcho and Surugacho areas. Even after expanding into large cities, Ise merchants kept their head offices in their hometowns and many opened sales branches in various regions, and these branches had a unique system of being run by male-only households.

[Masuo Murai]

"Edo Commerce and the Ise Store" edited by Masamoto Kitajima (1962, Yoshikawa Kobunkan) " ▽ "Mitsui Takatoshi" by Yasunao Nakata (1959, Yoshikawa Kobunkan)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

江戸時代に、江戸、大坂、京都などの大都市で商業界に活躍した伊勢（三重県）出身の商人。伊勢は神宮の所在地であったため古来交通が開け、中世には伊勢湾の海上交通を背景に桑名(くわな)、安濃津(あのつ)（津）、大湊(おおみなと)などの港町が栄え、これらの港町の問屋、廻船(かいせん)業者のなかには、遠く東海、関東方面にまで往来する者もあった。また陸上では南近江(おうみ)（滋賀県）と北伊勢は国境を接し、八風(はっぷう)・千草(ちくさ)・鈴鹿(すずか)峠を越えて近江商人が盛んに往来していた。豊臣(とよとみ)政権の時代となり、1584年（天正12）蒲生氏郷(がもううじさと)が近江の日野（滋賀県蒲生郡日野町）から伊勢に移封され、松ヶ島（三重県松阪市内）に築城したが、4年後の88年松坂（松阪市）に居城を移し、城下町を経営した。このとき、松ヶ島の町人伊豆蔵(いずくら)、雲出蔵(くもずくら)、射和蔵(いざわくら)、鎌田蔵(かまだくら)、下蔵(しもくら)などとよばれる豪商たちを松坂に移したが、同時に日野商人の伊勢移住も許したので、伊勢商人の活動はその刺激を受けて一段と活発になった。1603年（慶長8）江戸幕府が開かれ、江戸市街の開発・建設が本格化すると、伊勢商人も地元特産の木綿、茶などを運んで江戸に進出した。松坂蔵方の一人である鈴木（伊豆蔵）や射和の富山(とみやま)（大黒屋）などは元和(げんな)年間（1615～24）ころ呉服店を開き、これに続いて松坂、津、桑名出身の商人たちも17世紀後半には江戸商業界に確固たる地位を占めるようになった。江戸では「江戸名物、伊勢屋稲荷(いなり)に犬の糞(くそ)」とか「表に懸(かか)り候のれんを見候へば、一町の内に半分は伊勢屋」（落穂集）といわれたほど伊勢商人が多かった。有力商人としては、日本橋大伝馬町(おおでんまちょう)に店を構えた川喜多(かわきた)、小津(おづ)、長谷川(はせがわ)などの木綿問屋が有名で、伊勢店(だな)といえば大伝馬町木綿問屋をさすものとされたが、そのほか三井（越後屋(えちごや)）のように日本橋本町、駿河(するが)町へんに呉服店、両替店を開く者も多かった。伊勢商人は、大都市に進出後も本店は出身地に置き、各地の営業店を出店とする者が多く、その出店は男だけの世帯とする独特の店制をとっていた。

［村井益男］

『北島正元編著『江戸商業と伊勢店』（1962・吉川弘文館）』▽『中田易直著『三井高利』（1959・吉川弘文館）』

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