Shuza (cinnabar monopoly)

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Shuza (首座 shuza?) was the Tokugawa shogunate's officially-sanctioned cinnabar monopoly or cinnabar guild (za)[1] which was created in 1609.[2]

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

This bakufu title identifies a corporate entity with responsibility for supervising the handling and trading of cinnabar and for superintending all cinnabar mining and cinnabar-extraction activities in Japan.[3]

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