このページでは、江戸時代の商業がいかにして全国的な規模に発展し、三都（江戸・大坂・京都）をはじめとする都市がどのようにして人々の生活や文化の中心となったのか、そしてそれらを支えた陸路・海路の交通網がどのように機能していたのかを探っていく。これらの要素が複雑に絡み合い、江戸時代の経済社会を形作っていった様を、具体的な事例とともに見ていこう。
【学術的豆知識】江戸の「リサイクル社会」と「循環型経済」
現代の僕たちは「SDGs」や「サステナビリティ」といった言葉をよく耳にするけれど、実は江戸時代の日本、特に江戸のような大都市は、世界でも類を見ない高度な「リサイクル社会」「循環型経済」を実現していたと言われているんだ。例えば、古着は何度も仕立て直され、最後は雑巾やおむつになり、さらに燃やして灰になっても肥料として再利用された。糞尿は貴重な肥料（下肥）として農村に売られ、野菜となって都市に戻ってきた。他にも、提灯や傘の修理屋、鋳掛屋（いかけや：鍋釜の修理）など、モノを長く大切に使うための様々な専門職人がいた。大量生産・大量消費の現代から見ると、学ぶべき点が多いかもしれないね。
(Click to listen) We often hear terms like "SDGs" and "sustainability" today, but it is said that Edo-period Japan, especially large cities like Edo, had achieved a highly advanced "recycling society" and "circular economy" 거의 전례 없는 수준으로. For example, old clothes were repeatedly remade, eventually becoming cleaning rags or diapers, and even after being burned to ash, they were reused as fertilizer. Human waste was sold to rural areas as valuable fertilizer (shimo-goe) and returned to the city as vegetables. There were also various specialized craftsmen for long-term use of items, such as lantern and umbrella repairers, and ikakeya (pot and kettle menders). From the perspective of our modern mass-production, mass-consumption society, there might be much to learn.
This Page's Summary in English (Click to expand and listen to paragraphs)
This page explores the significant development of commerce, the prosperity of cities, and the establishment of a nationwide transportation network during the Edo period, all fueled by increased agricultural productivity. While a "samurai era," merchants and townspeople (chōnin) often drove economic dynamism.
Commerce flourished with a sophisticated distribution system involving wholesalers (ton'ya), middlemen (nakagai), and retailers. The putting-out system (ton'ya-sei kanai kōgyō) was common, especially in textiles. Kabunakama (merchant guilds) were officially recognized, granting monopolies in exchange for fees, stabilizing prices and quality but also restricting new entries. Ryōgaeshō (money changers) played a crucial banking role due to the tri-metallic currency system (gold, silver, copper), handling exchange, deposits, loans, and bills of exchange. Kurayashiki (domainal warehouses), mainly in Osaka, were vital for selling rice and domainal products, making Osaka the "Kitchen of Japan." Specialized markets like the Dōjima Rice Market in Osaka, which saw early forms of futures trading, also developed.
Major cities, especially the "Santo" (Three Capitals), thrived: Edo, the shogunal capital and a massive consumer city of over a million people; Osaka, the commercial and financial hub; and Kyoto, the center of traditional culture and crafts. Castle towns (jōkamachi), port towns (minatomachi), and post towns (shukuba-machi) also prospered. The Shogunate developed the Gokaidō (Five Highways) with post stations (shukueki) and checkpoints (sekisho). Maritime transport, including the Higashi-mawari (eastern) and Nishi-mawari (western) coastal routes improved by Kawamura Zuiken, and private Kaisen (cargo ships) like Higaki and Taru Kaisen, were essential for mass transport of goods.
These developments fostered a national market economy, urban prosperity, and cultural exchange (the "light"). However, they also led to urban population concentration, rural depopulation in some areas, widening wealth gaps, and economic instability for some samurai and peasants due to the monetized economy (the "shadow"). The advanced transport network also ironically facilitated the spread of anti-shogunate movements in the Bakumatsu period.
江戸時代の経済がいかに活気に満ち、全国的なつながりを持っていたか、その一端が見えてきただろうか？
次は、この経済活動を支えた「貨幣制度」と、常に悩みの種であった「幕府・藩の財政」について詳しく見ていこう。