Omi merchants

Japanese: 近江商人 (Oumi shounin)

Ômi merchants were a particular group or category of peddlers prominently active along the Nakasendô in the medieval and early modern periods. From around 1700, they shifted to operating out of storefronts, rather than as mobile street peddlers. A number of makers of tatami, mosquito nets, and other goods still active today in the city of Ômi-hachiman trace their origins to the medieval or early modern Ômi merchants. A number of other similar groups emerged out of nearby areas as well.

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References

Gallery labels, "Ômi shônin," National Museum of Japanese History.