Born at Matsusaka in Ise, the fourth son of the Mitsui merchant house. He is said to have been strongly influenced by his mother Shuhō, a gifted businesswoman.
Around this time he worked in his elder brother's shop in Edo, learning trade; his outstanding work helped the business grow.
He returned to Matsusaka to care for his mother and built up capital through moneylending and other trade, waiting for the day he could open his own shop in Edo.
He opened the Echigoya drapery in Edo, with a purchasing branch in Kyoto.
Drapers had usually sold on credit, collecting payment later. Echigoya sold over the counter for cash at honest fixed prices and cut cloth to any length, winning huge popularity.
He moved the shop to Surugachō and also opened a money-exchange business, further expanding his enterprise.
He was entrusted with remitting shogunate funds from Osaka to Edo, raising his credit.
He died in Kyoto. Echigoya grew into today's Mitsukoshi, and his exchange business into the later Mitsui Bank.
Nonaka KenzanKawamura ZuikenKumazawa BanzanAmakusa ShirōYamaga SokoSakai TadakiyoItō JinsaiTokugawa Mitsukuni
People of the Edo period ・ People by period
Based on facts found in textbooks and biographies. Uncertain points are marked as such.