Ginza (agency)

For other uses, see Ginza (disambiguation).

Ginza (銀座) was the Tokugawa shogunate's officially sanctioned silver monopoly or silver guild (za)^[1] which was created in 1598.^[2]

Initially, the Tokugawa shogunate was interested in assuring a consistent value in minted silver coins; and this led to the perceived need for attending to the supply of silver.

This bakufu title identifies a regulatory agency with responsibility for supervising the minting of silver coins and for superintending all silver mines, silver mining and silver-extraction activities in Japan.^[3]

See also

• Bugyō
• Kinzan-bugyō
• Kinza – Gold za (monopoly office or guild).
• Dōza – Copper za (monopoly office or guild).
• Shuza – Cinnabar za (monopoly office or guild)