Chaya Shirojiro
Encyclopedia
Chaya Shirōjirō was the name of a series of wealthy and influential Kyoto
-based merchants who took part in the red-seal trade
licensed under the Tokugawa shogunate
. Members of the Chaya family, they were also centrally involved in the country's production and trade in textiles. Along with the Suminokura and Gotō families, the Chaya were one of the top merchant families in Edo period
Kyoto.
of the Nakajima family, descended from lords of a territory in Owari province
. His father, a friend of Shogun Ashikaga Yoshiteru
, was crippled in the wars of the Sengoku period
. Adopted into the Chaya family, he established a humble business in Kyoto making drapes. He developed a strong business relationship with one of his clients, Matsudaira Hirotada
, and later sent his son Chaya Shirōjirō Kiyonobu to Mikawa province
to serve as a squire to Hirotada's son, now known as Tokugawa Ieyasu
Kiyonobu thus became one of the primary suppliers of the Tokugawa family, and quickly came into great wealth and influence in Kyoto. He accompanied Ieyasu in battle, at both the Mikatagahara
(1573), and served him in other ways, as an intelligence agent in Kyoto and in secretly transporting messages and goods for Ieyasu during the time when Toyotomi Hideyoshi
held power. He obtained a red-seal license (shuinjō) from Hideyoshi, permitting him to trade in the ports of southern Vietnam, where he obtained silks and other goods. Chaya was supposedly the one who informed Ieyasu of Oda Nobunaga
's death
in 1582, and thus allowed him to escape the forces of Akechi Mitsuhide
and Hideyoshi, who seized power in the aftermath.
He is said to have helped design the layout of the city of Edo
, and for his last year or so of life, did not leave Ieyasu's side. He repeatedly refused formal posts as governor of various Tokugawa lands, insisting that he was not a soldier, and was granted a stipend of 200 koku
instead.
(1600), and soon afterward was made head of all the merchants in the Kansai region, "with particular jurisdiction over the business community of Kyoto".
However, Kiyotada died young, in 1603, at the age of nineteen.
A friend of artist Honami Kōetsu
, Kiyotsugu was active socially in the Kyoto art world, and was known as both a patron of the arts in general, and a collector of tea bowls
and other implements of the Japanese tea ceremony
.
Beginning in 1612, the family obtained official licenses (shuinjō) from the shogunate to continue trade with Cochinchina
(aka Dang Trong, present-day southern Vietnam
); these merchant vessels thus came to be known as chaya-sen (茶屋船, "Chaya ships").
and Owari province
s. The family suffered after the imposition of maritime restrictions
by the shogunate in the 1630s, which put an end to the Annam trade, but continued to earn significant profits as core members of the itowappu system by which they enjoyed oligopolistic
privileges in the silk trade.
The family suffered heavy losses in 1655, as did the other itowappu merchants; the system was abolished the same year, but was later re-established in 1685. The family's fortunes continued to wane as, by 1700, it lost its special relationship with the shogunate, which could now obtain cheaper textiles from Edo-based merchants.
Kyoto
is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...
-based merchants who took part in the red-seal trade
Red seal ships
were Japanese armed merchant sailing ships bound for Southeast Asian ports with a red-sealed patent issued by the early Tokugawa shogunate in the first half of the 17th century...
licensed under the Tokugawa shogunate
Tokugawa shogunate
The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the and the , was a feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family. This period is known as the Edo period and gets its name from the capital city, Edo, which is now called Tokyo, after the name was...
. Members of the Chaya family, they were also centrally involved in the country's production and trade in textiles. Along with the Suminokura and Gotō families, the Chaya were one of the top merchant families in Edo period
Edo period
The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....
Kyoto.
Chaya Shirōjirō Kiyonobu (1545-1596)
Chaya Shirōjirō Kiyonobu (1545-1596), likely the first of the line, was the son of a roninRonin
A or rounin was a Bushi with no lord or master during the feudal period of Japan. A samurai became masterless from the death or fall of his master, or after the loss of his master's favor or privilege....
of the Nakajima family, descended from lords of a territory in Owari province
Owari Province
was an old province of Japan that is now the western half of present day Aichi Prefecture, including much of modern Nagoya. Its abbreviation is Bishū .-History:The province was created in 646....
. His father, a friend of Shogun Ashikaga Yoshiteru
Ashikaga Yoshiteru
, also known as Yoshifushi or Yoshifuji, was the 13th shogun of the Ashikaga shogunate who reigned from 1546 to 1565 during the late Muromachi period of Japan. He was the eldest son of the 12th shogun, Ashikaga Yoshiharu; and his mother was a daughter of Konoe Taneie...
, was crippled in the wars of the Sengoku period
Sengoku period
The or Warring States period in Japanese history was a time of social upheaval, political intrigue, and nearly constant military conflict that lasted roughly from the middle of the 15th century to the beginning of the 17th century. The name "Sengoku" was adopted by Japanese historians in reference...
. Adopted into the Chaya family, he established a humble business in Kyoto making drapes. He developed a strong business relationship with one of his clients, Matsudaira Hirotada
Matsudaira Hirotada
was the lord of Okazaki Castle in Mikawa province, Japan during the Sengoku Period of the 16th century. He is best known for being the father of Tokugawa Ieyasu, founder of the Tokugawa Shogunate....
, and later sent his son Chaya Shirōjirō Kiyonobu to Mikawa province
Mikawa Province
is an old province in the area that today forms the eastern half of Aichi Prefecture. It was sometimes called . Mikawa bordered on Owari, Mino, Shinano, and Tōtōmi Provinces....
to serve as a squire to Hirotada's son, now known as Tokugawa Ieyasu
Tokugawa Ieyasu
was the founder and first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan , which ruled from the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. Ieyasu seized power in 1600, received appointment as shogun in 1603, abdicated from office in 1605, but...
Kiyonobu thus became one of the primary suppliers of the Tokugawa family, and quickly came into great wealth and influence in Kyoto. He accompanied Ieyasu in battle, at both the Mikatagahara
Battle of Mikatagahara
The ' was one of the most famous battles of Takeda Shingen's campaigns, and one of the best demonstrations of his cavalry-based tactics.-Background:...
(1573), and served him in other ways, as an intelligence agent in Kyoto and in secretly transporting messages and goods for Ieyasu during the time when Toyotomi Hideyoshi
Toyotomi Hideyoshi
was a daimyo warrior, general and politician of the Sengoku period. He unified the political factions of Japan. He succeeded his former liege lord, Oda Nobunaga, and brought an end to the Sengoku period. The period of his rule is often called the Momoyama period, named after Hideyoshi's castle...
held power. He obtained a red-seal license (shuinjō) from Hideyoshi, permitting him to trade in the ports of southern Vietnam, where he obtained silks and other goods. Chaya was supposedly the one who informed Ieyasu of Oda Nobunaga
Oda Nobunaga
was the initiator of the unification of Japan under the shogunate in the late 16th century, which ruled Japan until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was also a major daimyo during the Sengoku period of Japanese history. His opus was continued, completed and finalized by his successors Toyotomi...
's death
Incident at Honnoji
The ' refers to the forced suicide on June 21, 1582 of Japanese daimyo Oda Nobunaga at the hands of his samurai general Akechi Mitsuhide. This occurred in Honnō-ji, a temple in Kyoto, ending Nobunaga's quest to consolidate centralized power in Japan under his authority.-Context:Oda Nobunaga was at...
in 1582, and thus allowed him to escape the forces of Akechi Mitsuhide
Akechi Mitsuhide
, nicknamed Jūbei or called from his clan name and title, was a samurai who lived during the Sengoku period of Feudal Japan.Mitsuhide was a general under daimyo Oda Nobunaga, although he became infamous for his betrayal in 1582, which led to Nobunaga's death at Honno-ji...
and Hideyoshi, who seized power in the aftermath.
He is said to have helped design the layout of the city of Edo
Edo
, also romanized as Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of the Japanese capital Tokyo, and was the seat of power for the Tokugawa shogunate which ruled Japan from 1603 to 1868...
, and for his last year or so of life, did not leave Ieyasu's side. He repeatedly refused formal posts as governor of various Tokugawa lands, insisting that he was not a soldier, and was granted a stipend of 200 koku
Koku
The is a Japanese unit of volume, equal to ten cubic shaku. In this definition, 3.5937 koku equal one cubic metre, i.e. 1 koku is approximately 278.3 litres. The koku was originally defined as a quantity of rice, historically defined as enough rice to feed one person for one year...
instead.
Chaya Shirōjirō Kiyotada (1584-1603)
Following Kiyonobu's death in 1596, his son Kiyotada took over the family business, and succeeded his father in his relationship with the Tokugawa lord. Kiyotada fought at the battle of SekigaharaBattle of Sekigahara
The , popularly known as the , was a decisive battle on October 21, 1600 which cleared the path to the Shogunate for Tokugawa Ieyasu...
(1600), and soon afterward was made head of all the merchants in the Kansai region, "with particular jurisdiction over the business community of Kyoto".
However, Kiyotada died young, in 1603, at the age of nineteen.
Chaya Shirōjirō Kiyotsugu (1584-1622)
Thus, with the patronage of the shogunate behind them, the remaining brothers Kiyotsugu (1584-1622), Michizumi, and Nobumune took over the Chaya family business, worked to monopolize the trade in raw silk, and served as official suppliers of a variety of goods to the shogunate. Kiyotsugu was assigned by Ieyasu to help oversee shogunal operations at the formal trading post in Nagasaki, where he could keep an eye on the foreign traders and Christian missionaries, while working to his own commercial benefit as well.A friend of artist Honami Kōetsu
Honami Koetsu
was a Japanese craftsman, potter, lacquerer, and calligrapher, whose work is generally considered to have inspired the founding of the Rinpa school of painting.-Early life:...
, Kiyotsugu was active socially in the Kyoto art world, and was known as both a patron of the arts in general, and a collector of tea bowls
Chawan
right|thumb|250px|A [[Azuchi-Momoyama period|16th century]] black [[Raku]]-ware tea bowl chawan A chawan is a bowl used for preparing and drinking tea. There are many types of chawan used in a tea ceremony, and the choice of their use depends upon many considerations...
and other implements of the Japanese tea ceremony
Japanese tea ceremony
The Japanese tea ceremony, also called the Way of Tea, is a Japanese cultural activity involving the ceremonial preparation and presentation of matcha, powdered green tea. In Japanese, it is called . The manner in which it is performed, or the art of its performance, is called...
.
Beginning in 1612, the family obtained official licenses (shuinjō) from the shogunate to continue trade with Cochinchina
Cochinchina
Cochinchina is a region encompassing the southern third of Vietnam whose principal city is Saigon. It was a French colony from 1862 to 1954. The later state of South Vietnam was created in 1954 by combining Cochinchina with southern Annam. In Vietnamese, the region is called Nam Bộ...
(aka Dang Trong, present-day southern Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
); these merchant vessels thus came to be known as chaya-sen (茶屋船, "Chaya ships").
Later generations
Chaya Shirōjirō Kagayoshi and Koshirō Munekiyo, heads of the family several generations later, continued to serve the shogunate, and expanded the family business, establishing branches in KiiKii Province
, or , was a province of Japan in the part of Honshū that is today Wakayama Prefecture, as well as the southern part of Mie Prefecture. Kii bordered Ise, Izumi, Kawachi, Shima, and Yamato Provinces. The Kii Peninsula takes its name from this province....
and Owari province
Owari Province
was an old province of Japan that is now the western half of present day Aichi Prefecture, including much of modern Nagoya. Its abbreviation is Bishū .-History:The province was created in 646....
s. The family suffered after the imposition of maritime restrictions
Sakoku
was the foreign relations policy of Japan under which no foreigner could enter nor could any Japanese leave the country on penalty of death. The policy was enacted by the Tokugawa shogunate under Tokugawa Iemitsu through a number of edicts and policies from 1633–39 and remained in effect until...
by the shogunate in the 1630s, which put an end to the Annam trade, but continued to earn significant profits as core members of the itowappu system by which they enjoyed oligopolistic
Oligopoly
An oligopoly is a market form in which a market or industry is dominated by a small number of sellers . The word is derived, by analogy with "monopoly", from the Greek ὀλίγοι "few" + πόλειν "to sell". Because there are few sellers, each oligopolist is likely to be aware of the actions of the others...
privileges in the silk trade.
The family suffered heavy losses in 1655, as did the other itowappu merchants; the system was abolished the same year, but was later re-established in 1685. The family's fortunes continued to wane as, by 1700, it lost its special relationship with the shogunate, which could now obtain cheaper textiles from Edo-based merchants.