Kawamura Zuiken was an Edo period timber merchant who rose to samurai status.
Originally a mere courier, he amassed a fortune through dealings in timber futures following the Meireki Fire of 1657. He also became involved in public works projects including canals and flood control. Kawamura was later made a hatamoto with 150 hyô.
References
- Joyce Ackroyd, Told Round a Brushwood Fire, Princeton University Press (1979), 283n78.