Peddlers

Peddlers were an important, but often overlooked, element of the premodern commercial landscape.

In Edo period Japan, at least in some regions, peddlers were among the poorest of the merchant class, and lowest in status or prestige, in part because of the very low capital investment required to become a peddler. Many could not even afford to purchase their merchandise outright, but bought it on credit, promising to pay back the seller/producer out of revenues.

In some domains, peddlers had to be officially licensed. In Fukuoka han, licenses were generally given out for three-year periods; as many as 10-20% of villagers held such licenses. The peddlers were obligated to pay an annual tax known as unjôgin, and were limited both in what they could sell and where they could peddle their wares. Peddlers from certain parts of the domain were permitted to sell only tea, tobacco, oil, hair products, cotton, fresh fish, paper, candle/lamp wicks, salted fish, seaweed, vinegar, needles, brushes, hemp, soy sauce, and salt, and nothing else, while peddlers from other regions were prohibited from selling any of those items. Further, peddlers from coastal towns and major cities were forbidden from entering farming villages during certain times of year, and from selling their wares on the small islands in the Genkai Sea at any time of year.