ABSTRACT
THE COMMERCIAL SYSTEM OF THE ASHIKAGA EPOCH.-As already explained, Ashikaga Takauji founded his dynasty by satisfying the craving of successful warriors to own land, but he went too far, and in time the tail began to wag the dog. The period of two hundred years or more was mostly disturbed, and there was very little peace. Naturally, the economic system of the epoch was entirely out of order, and there is nothing noteworthy to record. The people of the time, however, managed to keep their independence amidst the tumults of the disorderly administration, planning various means for maintenance of their life and property. In order to get freedom for their commerce, they gradually established a commercial system among themselves, which forms the best memorial of the courage and ability of our people in the Middle Ages. The essence of the commercial institutions in the Ashikaga epoch lies in the za under which merchants were granted charters for some line of commerce, and no other merchants other than the recipients of the charter were allowed to follow this line. In time the union of these za become vastly influential.
