이 글은 18세기부터 점포상업이 본격적으로 발달하고 도시로서의 모습을 갖추게 되었던 일본 관동지방의 상업도시 사와라[佐原]를 대상으로, 도시에서 성립하고 발전한 점포상업과 그에 종사하는 상인들에 주목하여, 그들의 일상생활을 민속학적으로 파악함으로써, 상인들이 독자적으로 축적시켜 온 민속적 세계를 재구성하고자 한다. 먼저 상인과 상가로 이루어진 상업도시가 성립되어 가는 과정을 기술하고, 상업 민속 발생의 모태가 되는 도시의 중심성과 다양성에 대해 살펴보았다. 특히 공간적 다양성에 대한 논의는 상업이라는 생업 자체가 지닌 다양성을 보여줌과 동시에, 그러한 다양함이 보여주는 새로운 질서에 대한 시점을 찾고자 하였다. 이어서 그 공간 안에 구성된 단위 즉 이에(家)로서의 상가(商家)의 내부구조와 분화과정(分家)에 대해 분석한다. 달리 말하면 상업경영의 주체에 대한 분석이라 할 수 있을 것이다. 그리고 일본의 이에의 특성이라 할 수 있는 법인체로서의 이에의 존속과 관련된 상인들의 전략을 살펴보았다. 각 상가가 대를 이어 계승하고 있는 가업을 유지하기 위해 설정한 가훈과, 각 상가들의 고유한 지식과 기능의 전수과정 및 상속에 대해 살펴봄으로써, 상인들이 자신의 생업을 유지하기 위해 선택하는 전략과 방법에 대해 고찰하였다. 마지막으로 상가가 맺는 사회관계, 즉 도시 내에서의 상인공동체라 할 수 있는 집단에 대해 살펴보았는데, 주로 공동체의 일원으로서 가지고 있는 물적 기반과 상징물, 그리고 고객과의 관계와 지역 사회 내에서의 관계를 중심으로, 공통의 이익을 추구하기보다는 개별 집단의 이익을 우선시하는 상인집단들이 구성하는 공동체적 양상을 파악하였다.

This article focused on a Japanese local town Sawara[佐原] in Kanto region where the commercial stores were developed and its appearance as a city; I tried to figure out a town established in the city of commerce and merchants’ stores looking at their everyday lives, and reconfigure the folk world independently accumulated by merchants’. Firstly, the process of the establishment of business city that consists of merchants, and commercial store street were described and looked at the city-oriented, and diversity where the birth of commercial folk were occurred. Especially, some discuss on spatial diversity enables us to see the commercial as a breadwinner, at the same time I tried to figure out such diversity have to find time for a new order. Secondly, I analyzed for a differentiation process and internal structure of the commercial house as Ie(家) as a unit in their space. In other words, this is an analysis of the commercial business entity. Thirdly, I closely looked at some strategies of merchants who related to the existence of Ie(家) as a corporation body which is attributes of Japanese Ie(家). I studied in some aspects of strategy and method how they can be maintained their business, and if we look at the family motto, we could be able to find out its genuine knowledge and succession of technic and inheritance from father to son. Lastly, the social relation which is a group can be considered as merchant community in town; mainly, as a member of the community some physical base and symbolic icon and the relationship between regulars and community, they put the individual group profit before profits for the community which is an aspect of the merchant group.

This article focused on a Japanese local town Sawara[佐原] in Kanto region where the commercial stores were developed and its appearance as a city; I tried to figure out a town established in the city of commerce and merchants’ stores looking at their everyday lives, and reconfigure the folk world independently accumulated by merchants’. Firstly, the process of the establishment of business city that consists of merchants, and commercial store street were described and looked at the city-oriented, and diversity where the birth of commercial folk were occurred. Especially, some discuss on spatial diversity enables us to see the commercial as a breadwinner, at the same time I tried to figure out such diversity have to find time for a new order. Secondly, I analyzed for a differentiation process and internal structure of the commercial house as Ie(家) as a unit in their space. In other words, this is an analysis of the commercial business entity. Thirdly, I closely looked at some strategies of merchants who related to the existence of Ie(家) as a corporation body which is attributes of Japanese Ie(家). I studied in some aspects of strategy and method how they can be maintained their business, and if we look at the family motto, we could be able to find out its genuine knowledge and succession of technic and inheritance from father to son. Lastly, the social relation which is a group can be considered as merchant community in town; mainly, as a member of the community some physical base and symbolic icon and the relationship between regulars and community, they put the individual group profit before profits for the community which is an aspect of the merchant group.

merchant’s house, the family business/genealogy, material symbol, inheritance/succession, social relations