Hirooka Kyuemon - Hirooka Kyuemon

Japanese: 広岡久右衛門 - ひろおか・きゆうえもん

This was the nickname of the successive heads of the Kashimaya family, wealthy merchants in Osaka during the Edo period. They are said to be descendants of the Murakami Genji clan and originally lived in Naniwa Village, Kawabe County, Settsu Province, but in 1625, their founder Masanori moved to Midomae, Osaka, where he took the name Kashimaya Kyuemon and started a rice polishing business while also operating a money exchange. As the family business prospered, they moved to Tamamizu-cho, where the storehouses of various feudal domains were located and where it was convenient for handling stored rice, and developed as a money exchange shop and a rice wholesaler trading in various provinces. In 1731, when rice brokerage stocks were officially recognized by the shogunate following the official approval of the Dojima Rice Exchange, they were appointed as rice-related yearly referees along with four other families, and became important merchants in Dojima. The Kashimaya Kyuemon family was also a money exchanger, but unlike ordinary money exchangers, it was a money exchange with deep ties to the Dojima rice market. Iri-ka-ryogae was a money exchanger who used rice stamps issued by the various feudal domains' storehouses as collateral to lend money or lent rice stamps. This required a large amount of capital, and in Osaka it was the second largest money exchanger after the Junin Ryogae. Kashimaya was deeply involved in the trade of stored rice, and provided loans to feudal lords in areas such as Takasaki, Ueno, Nakatsu, Buzen, Choshu, Chikuzen, Echizen, and Kaga. From the mid-Edo period onwards, when government fees were imposed on Osaka townspeople, Kashimaya Kyuemon, along with Konoike Zen'emon, contributed the largest amount, making him one of the top Osaka townspeople. At the end of the Edo period and during the Meiji Restoration, it is said that there were more than 100 feudal lords who had outstanding loans, and although many of them suffered losses when the Meiji Restoration government disposed of their domain bonds, they still maintained their family fortunes and played a leading role in the establishment of the Hyogo Shosha, the Osaka Trading Company, and the Exchange Company. <References> Miyamoto Mataji, Osaka Townspeople

(Miyamoto Mataro)

Source: Asahi Japanese Historical Biography: Asahi Shimbun Publications Inc. About Asahi Japanese Historical Biography

Japanese:

江戸時代の大坂の豪商,加島屋当主代々の通り名。村上源氏の流れをくむと伝えられ,もと摂津国川辺郡浪花村に居住したが,寛永2(1625)年業祖正教が大坂御堂前に移住して,加島屋久右衛門と号し,精米業を始め,同時に両替業を営んだ。その後,家業繁栄とともに,諸藩の蔵屋敷が立地し,蔵米の取り扱いに便利であった玉水町に移り,両替店兼諸国取引米問屋として発展した。享保16(1731)年,堂島米会所の公許に伴い,米仲買株が幕府により公認された際には,他の4家と共にその取締役として米方年行司に任ぜられ,堂島で重きをなす商家となった。加島屋久右衛門家は両替商でもあったが,通常の両替商とは異なり,堂島米市場と深いつながりを持つ入替両替であった。入替両替とは,諸藩蔵屋敷が発行する米切手を担保にとって資金の融通を行う,もしくは米切手を貸し付ける両替商で,多額の資本を要し,大坂では十人両替に次ぐ大両替商であった。加島屋は蔵米取引と深く関係していたから,上野高崎,豊前中津,長州,筑前,越前,加賀などに大名貸を行った。江戸中期以降,大坂町人に御用金などが課せられたときには,加島屋久右衛門は鴻池善右衛門とならんで最高額を拠出しており,大坂町人のトップランクに位置していたといえる。幕末・維新期には貸付残高を持っていた大名は100以上におよんでいたといわれ,その多くは維新政府の藩債処分により損失となったが,なお家産を維持し,兵庫商社や大阪通商会社・為替会社の設立の際には主導的役割を果たした。<参考文献>宮本又次『大阪町人』

(宮本又郎)

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