za

za, in feudal Japan, any of the mercantile or craft guilds that flourished about 1100–1590. They did not become fully organized until the Muromachi period (1338–1573), when they began to monopolize the production, transport, and sale of merchandise. In exchange for certain fees, the za enjoyed official recognition and exemptions from tolls, transit duties, and market taxes. Many za were begun and maintained under the patronage of nobles or of the zasu (head priests) of Shintō shrines or Buddhist temples. More than 80 guilds situated in the Nara region specialized in the manufacture or conveyance of paper, sake, salt, vegetable oil, and malt. Other guilds were organized by dancers, musicians, carpenters, and blacksmiths. The za gradually declined with the declining authority of their patrons and with the expansion of the market economy. Merchants also often opposed the monopoly development and trade restrictions that characterized the za. Market taxes and za were officially and nationally abolished by the feudal lords Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi about 1590.