Ōdenma-chō Cotton Shop (Ōdenma-chō Momen Dana) from "Guide to Famous Spots of Edo Vol. 1"
Compiled by Saitō Chōshū, Painted by Hasegawa Settan 1834-1836 (Tempō 5 to Tempō 7) Kaga Collection 256

As a name, "Ōdenma-chō" is said to have resulted from the locating of a remount station along a road serviced by official post horses ("tenma" in Japanese). The townspeople providing the horses began to act as brokers of cotton coming to Edo from Mikawa Province. Overtime, these brokers evolved into cotton traders with some 55 being active in 1705. Indeed, another name for the area was "Momen-dana" (literally "cotton traders"), with the location equating to what is now Nihonbashi Ōdenma-chō 1-chōme to 3-chōme.


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