Shop name - Yago

A common name for a "family." It is also called a family name, gate name, or mansion name, and is similar to the common names of shops, and traces of this can be seen in the names of modern corporate entities. It was preceded by Heian aristocrats who lived in the capital calling "family" of the same lineage (clan) by the names of their places of residence (Ichijo, Sanjo, Aneyakoji, etc.), and by medieval samurai who distinguished "family" of the same lineage by the names of the territories they owned. These later evolved into the official names for "family" as so-called "surnames." Since there were many families with the same surname in early modern villages, it was customary to call a family by its shop name (house name) in daily life, and this has been passed down for generations to the present day. There are various ways to call a family name, but they can be roughly categorized into the following types. In other words, many of the names that indicate a person's origins as a village dweller are indicated by (1) the names of ancestors (such as Hisasaku or Tarobei), (2) the relationship of the family to its head or branch (such as Oya, Honke, or Shinya), (3) the location of the household (such as East, Central, or South), (4) characteristics of the household or home (such as Gateya, Itaya, or Kakinokiyashiki), (5) names of special occupations (such as oil maker, sake maker, or indigo dyer), and (6) good names (a new trend, such as Kotobukiya or Sakaeya). In villages with little mobility, these household names have been passed down for a long time.

Merchants in early modern cities also had "yago" (store names) as common names, but they often took names from their hometowns, such as Echigoya, Mikawaya, Oumi-ya, and Ise-ya, and it was also common to choose names based on the "family seal" (Daimaru, Kakusan), or names based on the trade name (Aburaya, Wataya) or good names (Daikokuya, Eijuya, Tsuruya). With the emergence of new trade names after the Meiji period, it became common to add names such as "kan" (building), "ken" (street), "do" (house), "sho" (mansion) and "rou" (ro). Even after the organization changed to a business entity, many of the old store names remained in the "corporate name", and some also survived as "trademarks". The store names of early modern merchants were considered important as "symbols" that united the main and subordinate relationships of a traditional merchant family, as the so-called "norenuchi" (within the goodwill), and they were a way to boast about the store's history to the outside world and to gain trust. However, among themselves, they called each shop by its location, just like the names of houses in villages. The samurai families who lived in the castle towns also had "house names" that became common names, but this tradition died out after the Meiji period, and today only some traces remain in the names of towns in cities. The homes of "resident craftsmen" in early modern cities also had shop names, but because clan-based organizations were not as developed as those of merchants, there is almost no evidence of this tradition being passed down.

In contrast, in the case of performing arts families, in connection with the development of the iemoto system, 'yago' (family name) was valued as a kind of school name. Kabuki actors in particular were given 'yago' (family name) in addition to their actor's surname (Ichikawa, Nakamura, etc.), which became a symbol of the preservation of the 'style' of a great actor's art, and there were cases where the audience praised the actor by his name. Examples include Naritaya (Ichikawa Danjuro), Narikoma-ya (Nakamura Utaemon), and Korai-ya (Matsumoto Koshiro). And the tradition of 'yago' still remains in the schools of various arts under the current iemoto system.

[Toshimi Takeuchi]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

「家」の通称。家名(いえな)、門名(かどな)、屋敷名(やしきな)ともいい、商店の通称も同類で、近代の企業体の名称にもその跡をとどめる。都に集住した平安貴族が同系（氏）の「家」を居住地名で呼び分け（一条・三条・姉小路など）、あるいは中世武家がその所領の在所名で同流の「家」を区別したのはその先蹤(せんしょう)で、これらはのちにいわゆる「苗字（名字）」として「家」の正式な呼び名に転化した。近世の村々には同姓（同苗字）の家が多かったこともあって、日常は屋号（屋敷名）を呼び習わし、累代それが受け継がれていまに至っている。屋号の呼び方はいろいろであるが、およそ次の型に類別できる。つまり、〔1〕先祖名（久作・太郎兵衛など）、〔2〕家の本末関係（大屋・本家・新屋など）、〔3〕屋敷の所在（東・中・南など）、〔4〕屋敷や家の特徴（門屋・板屋・柿(かき)の木屋敷など）、〔5〕特殊職業名（油屋・酒屋・紺屋など）、〔6〕嘉名(かめい)（寿屋・栄屋などで新しい傾向）などで、「村住み」の由緒を示すものも多く、移動性の少ない村ではこうした「屋敷名」が久しく伝流されてきたのである。

　近世都市の商家も同じく通称としての「屋号」をもっていたが、とくに越後(えちご)屋・三河屋・近江(おうみ)屋・伊勢(いせ)屋など出身地を名のることが多く、また大丸・角三など「家印」にちなむものや、職種名（油屋・綿屋）や嘉名（大黒屋・栄寿屋・鶴(つる)屋）を選ぶことも広くみられた。明治後の新職種の発生に伴っては、館・軒・堂・荘・楼などをつけることが一般化し、また企業体組織に変わっても「法人名」に古い屋号はかなり残り、また「商標」の形でも若干残存した。近世商家の屋号は、いわゆる「暖簾内(のれんうち)」として伝統ある商家の本末関係をまとめる「象徴」として重くみられ、外に対しては店の由緒を誇り、信用を博する手段ともなった。しかし仲間内では村々の屋敷名と同じく、それぞれの店の所在地を唱えて個別に呼び分けていた。城下に集住した武家団にも同様「屋敷名」が生じて通称となっていたが、その伝流は明治後絶え、いまは一部が都市の町名などにその跡をとどめるにすぎない。近世都市の「居職(いじょく)人」の家にも屋号はあったが、商家ほど同族的組織は発達しなかったので、その伝流はほとんどみられない。

　これに対し芸能の家に即しては、家元制度の発達と関連して、一種の流派名として「屋号」が重んぜられた。とくに歌舞伎(かぶき)役者には、役者名の「名字」（市川・中村など）のほかに「屋号」が設けられ、それは名優の芸の「型」を伝存する象徴ともなり、観客はその名で役者を褒めはやす例も生じた。成田屋（市川団十郎）、成駒(なりこま)屋（中村歌右衛門(うたえもん)）、高麗(こうらい)屋（松本幸四郎）の類である。そして現在の家元制度下における凡百の諸芸の流派にもまたこうした「屋号」の伝統はなおその跡をとどめている。

［竹内利美］

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