1.
domain warehouse; feudal warehouse estate
During the Edo period, warehouses maintained by feudal domains in major commercial cities, especially Osaka, to store and sell rice and other products from their territories.
Cultural note
A key institution of Edo-period commercial life. Osaka, as the center of rice trading, had the highest concentration of 蔵屋敷. Each feudal domain (藩) maintained one or more of these in Osaka or Edo to convert their rice tax (年貢) into cash. The 蔵屋敷 system contributed to the development of Japan's early commodity markets.