Background
The founder of the Chaya family, Kiyonobu (1545-96), was the son of a Kyoto clothing merchant and commonly went by the name Shirojiro, which became hereditary in the family.
茶屋四郎次郎
The founder of the Chaya family, Kiyonobu (1545-96), was the son of a Kyoto clothing merchant and commonly went by the name Shirojiro, which became hereditary in the family.
At an early date he entered the service of the Tokugawa family, at that time lords of the domain of Mikawa, and in 1582, when Oda Nobunaga was murdered at the Honno-ji in Kyoto, he managed by a clever strategy to save his master, Tokugawa Ieyasu, at the time in Sakai, from danger in the ensuing political confusion. Thereafter, while operating a clothing store in Kyoto, he continued his close association with the Toku- gawas, laying the foundation for the future prosperity and eminence of the Chaya family.
The second head of the family, Kiyotada (d. 1603), the son of Kiyonobu, took over the management of the family business on his father’s death, acting as official supplier of clothing and personal effects for Tokugawa Ieyasu. In 1612 he received from the government the shuin (vermilion seal) allowing him to engage in foreign trade, dispatching ships to Cochin China and conducting a lively and lucrative commerce in Japanese and foreign goods.
Munekiyo (d. 1622), a younger son of Kiyonobu and third head of the family, at first became the adopted son of the chief administrator of the city of Nagasaki, Hasegawa Fujihiro, but because of the early death of his elder brother Kiyotada in 1603, he took over the leadership of the Chaya family. Enjoying the favor and confidence of Ieyasu, he joined with Hasegawa Fujihiro in carrying on foreign trade and implementing the government’s pro-hibitions against Christianity.
In 1604 he received from the Tokugawa shogunate official permission to import and distribute raw silk from China. Thus, until the closing of the country in 1635, the Chaya family was able to reap vast profits as officially licensed traders and importers of raw silk. After the closing of the ports, they made a living as clothiers, with their main office in Kyoto and a branch office in Nagoya to serve the lord of Owari, and another branch in Wakayama to serve the lord of KishQ, both domains being in the possession of members of the Tokugawa family.