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The Echigo-ya was a major and innovative dry goods shop in [[Edo]]. Headed by the successive heads of the [[Mitsui Hachiroemon|Mitsui family]], the business later developed into the Mitsui & Co. holding company, one of the largest ''zaibatsu''/''keiretsu'' in Japan.

The Echigo-ya was a major and innovative dry goods shop in [[Edo]]. Headed by the successive heads of the [[Mitsui Hachiroemon|Mitsui family]], the business later developed into the Mitsui & Co. holding company, one of the largest ''zaibatsu''/''keiretsu'' in Japan.

[[Mitsui Takatoshi]], who was originally from Matsuzaka in [[Ise province]], opened his first Mitsui Echigo-ya kimono shop in [[Kyoto]] in [[1673]], and then later opened a dry goods store by the same name in the Honchô-nichôme neighborhood of Edo. Unlike other merchants, who often visited customers' houses, and who allowed for haggling, Mitsui displayed goods at his store, making them available only there, and accepted only cash. This attracted the ire of other shopowners, and forced Mitsui to relocate to Suruga-chô in [[1683]]. Takatoshi later expanded his business, establishing moneychangers in Edo, [[Osaka]], and Kyoto, and eventually becoming an [[goyo shonin|official]] moneychanger for the [[Tokugawa shogunate]].

[[Mitsui Takatoshi]], who was originally from Matsuzaka in [[Ise province]], opened his first Mitsui Echigo-ya kimono shop in [[Kyoto]] in [[1673]], and then later opened a dry goods store by the same name in the Honchô-nichôme neighborhood of Edo. Unlike other merchants, who often visited customers' houses, and who allowed for haggling, Mitsui's goods were available only at the shop, and he accepted only cash. This attracted the ire of other shopowners, and forced Mitsui to relocate to Suruga-chô in [[1683]]. Takatoshi later expanded his business, establishing moneychangers in Edo, [[Osaka]], and Kyoto, and eventually becoming an [[goyo shonin|official]] moneychanger for the [[Tokugawa shogunate]].

A major sight, the Echigo-ya appeared in numerous ''[[ukiyo-e]]'' woodblock prints of [[meisho|famous sights]] in Edo, city guidebooks, and the like.

A major sight, the Echigo-ya appeared in numerous ''[[ukiyo-e]]'' woodblock prints of [[meisho|famous sights]] in Edo, city guidebooks, and the like.