Meiji Deregulation as Merchant Liberation

“At twenty-nine, in 1871 (Meiji 4), it was the year with the greatest changes for merchants like Chubei. In July, the abolition of the feudal domains and establishment of prefectures was implemented. The following year, 1872, the ban on permanent sale of farmland, set by the Edo shogunate, was abolished, which allowed land trading. Next, the yen was introduced as a new currency, and the postal system also began. Two years earlier, barriers (sekisho) were abolished, making overland transportation less cumbersome than during the Edo period.”

“Itochu’s history began in Ansei 5 (1858). In this year, Chubei Ito led two employees and started the “mochi-oroshi” business. “Mochi-oroshi is selling by manufacturer-to-retailer traveling wholesale, different from peddling” (cited from ‘100 Years of Itochu Corporation’). Mochi-oroshi means wholesale business interposed between manufacturers and retailers, or in other words, trading company activity.”