Rokui-ten

Japanese: 六矣廛 - ろくいてん

During the Joseon Dynasty of Korea, these were six types of shops that were particularly large among the privileged official merchants known as cheonin in Seoul. They are also called "rikuiten" or "Yukjubicheon." The system of having official merchants in the capital had existed since the Goryeo Dynasty, and the Joseon Dynasty inherited the system by establishing the City Hall Left and Right Gate in Seoul in 1399, but Yukuicheon is thought to have been established between the 16th and 17th centuries. There are various interpretations of the meaning of the character "ui," but the most widely accepted theory is that it is the same as the character for "crotch" and refers to six types of privileged stocks.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

朝鮮の李朝時代，ソウルに存在していた特権的な御用商人たる廛人の中で特に規模の大きかった6種の商店。〈りくいてん〉ともいい，六注比廛ともよばれる。都に御用商人を置く制度は高麗時代から存在し，李朝も1399年ソウルに市廛左右行廊を置いてその制度を受け継いだが，六矣廛は16世紀から17世紀の間に成立したものと思われる。〈矣〉の字義をめぐってはさまざまな解釈があるが，矣は股の字に等しく，6種の特権的な株を意味するとする説が有力である。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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