Free Market and Easy Seating System

Rakuichi-Rakuza Seisatsu: The Wooden Placards That Sparked Japan's First Free Market

In a quiet temple courtyard in the heart of Gifu City, four weathered wooden boards have survived more than four and a half centuries of war, fire, and the passage of time. Together with one additional related placard, they form a national treasure of economic history: the Rakuichi-Rakuza Seisatsu, the original public notices that proclaimed one of the most revolutionary commercial policies in pre-modern Japan. Preserved at Entoku-ji Temple, these unassuming planks of cypress and pine carry the brushwork orders of Oda Nobunaga—the warlord who began the unification of Japan—and his successors, declaring the streets outside the temple a free market open to all.

For visitors seeking to understand how medieval Japan transformed itself into a vibrant commercial society, no other set of documents speaks with such immediacy. These are not copies, not later transcriptions, but the very signboards once nailed to wooden stakes at the edge of the castle town of Gifu, sheltered beneath small gabled roofs, read aloud to merchants and farmers who could not read them themselves.

What Are the Rakuichi-Rakuza Placards?

The term rakuichi-rakuza (楽市楽座) translates roughly as "free markets and open guilds." It refers to an economic policy that abolished the medieval guild system (za), eliminated market monopolies, and exempted merchants from various taxes and tolls. Under this system, anyone could open a shop, sell goods, or practice a trade in the designated market town—privileges that had previously been restricted to members of powerful guilds tied to temples, shrines, and noble families.

The four principal placards preserved at Entoku-ji record the issuance of this policy over a seventeen-year span:

• Placard 1 (October 1567): Issued by Oda Nobunaga to the Kanō market just after his conquest of Inabayama Castle. Written on a single board of cypress (later split and repaired during fabrication). The reverse still bears the marks of the stake that once held it.
• Placard 2 (September 1568): Issued by Nobunaga to Kanō on the eve of his march to Kyoto, adding an exemption from a commercial tax known as sakari-sen.
• Placard 3 (June 1583): Issued by Ikeda Motosuke, who became lord of Gifu Castle after the Battle of Shizugatake. Carved on a board of hime-komatsu pine.
• Placard 4 (July 1584): Issued by Ikeda Terumasa after his father Tsuneoki fell at the Battle of Nagakute and Terumasa inherited the domain.

An additional tsuketari (附, "attached") item—a 1567 placard ordering the resettlement of farmers displaced by war in northern Kanō—is also part of the designation, bringing the total to five historical wooden documents.

The Historical Background

In 1567, Oda Nobunaga captured Inabayama Castle from the Saitō clan and renamed the town below it Gifu—a name borrowed from the legendary Mount Qi in China, from which the Zhou dynasty was said to have launched its conquest. From this new base, Nobunaga began openly pursuing the unification of Japan under his motto Tenka Fubu: "all the realm under one sword."

Yet seizing the castle was only the beginning. The surrounding region had been devastated by decades of fighting, and the local economy lay in ruins. To rebuild Gifu as both a military stronghold and a commercial capital, Nobunaga needed to attract merchants, craftspeople, and farmers back to the town. His solution was radical for its era: rather than tax them more heavily, he would set them free.

The first rakuichi-rakuza placard, posted at the gate of Entoku-ji (then known as Jōsen-bō) in October 1567, guaranteed the market's long-standing privileges. The second, issued in September 1568 as Nobunaga prepared to escort Ashikaga Yoshiaki to Kyoto, added new exemptions—a forerunner of the broader liberalization that would eventually transform Japanese commerce. Portuguese Jesuit Luís Fróis, visiting Gifu in those years, famously described the town as a "bustling Babylon," teeming with traders from across the country.

Why These Placards Are an Important Cultural Property

On June 10, 1993, the Agency for Cultural Affairs designated the four principal placards (together with the attached resettlement placard) as a Nationally Important Cultural Property in the category of ancient documents. The reasoning behind the designation is grounded in three exceptional qualities.

1. They are original primary sources, not copies

Most surviving documents from the Sengoku period are later transcriptions stored in temple archives or daimyō libraries. The Entoku-ji placards, by contrast, are the actual wooden boards that once stood in the open air of the medieval market—complete with the wear marks of weather, the holes from the nails that fastened them to their stakes, and the traces of small gabled roofs that once protected the ink from rain. They are physical, three-dimensional records of medieval governance.

2. They document the evolution of a revolutionary policy

By comparing the four placards side by side, historians can trace how the rakuichi-rakuza system changed across two decades and two ruling families. The earliest Nobunaga placards preserve traditional protections that treated the market as a quasi-sanctuary (an asylum-like zone where debts and obligations from outside could not be enforced). The later Ikeda placards remove some of these protections, reflecting the gradual consolidation of daimyō authority and the bureaucratization of commerce. Whether this reflects shifting policy or merely shifting recipients remains debated among scholars—and that very debate is what makes the documents so valuable.

3. They preserve fine craftsmanship

The boards are carefully shaped, with their upper edges peaked in a gentle mountain form, their surfaces smoothed with tonoko polishing powder, and the text written in confident sumi ink. The two Nobunaga placards both carry a carved inscription reading "Yashirō" along the bottom edge—likely the name of the craftsman who made them, offering a rare personal trace of an otherwise anonymous artisan.

Highlights and What to Look For

The Boards Themselves

The placards are modest in size—about 37 to 40 centimeters tall and 32 to 36 centimeters wide, roughly the dimensions of a small picture frame. The two Nobunaga placards are cypress; the two Ikeda placards are hime-komatsu pine. The earlier placard shows visible repairs from a crack that occurred during its making, as well as the dark stains and worn surface that come from long exposure to weather. Look closely and you can still see where the stake was attached on the reverse, and where the protective roof sat above.

The Brushwork

The text on each board is written in formal but legible script. Although the language is classical Japanese with technical legal terms, the visual rhythm of the brushstrokes captures something of the urgency of the moment—edicts written to be read aloud, posted in haste, and obeyed at once.

The "Yashirō" Inscription

On the lower edge of the two Nobunaga placards, a small carved signature reads "Yashirō" (弥四良). This is believed to be the name of the artisan who shaped the boards. Such craftsman signatures from the Sengoku period are extraordinarily rare and offer a fleeting, human glimpse into the workshops that produced the everyday tools of medieval rule.

Entoku-ji Itself

Beyond the placards, the temple itself is steeped in the history of the Oda family. The Oda Mound (Oda-zuka) in the precinct commemorates the more than five thousand soldiers who fell at the Battle of Kanōguchi in 1547, when Nobunaga's father Nobuhide was defeated by Saitō Dōsan. Other temple treasures include a bronze bell donated by Nobunaga in 1564, a silver-leafed eboshi-shaped helmet, and the site where Oda Hidenobu—Nobunaga's grandson, also known as Sanbōshi—took the tonsure after his defeat at the Battle of Gifu Castle in 1600.

Visitor Information

Entoku-ji sits in the downtown core of Gifu City, just minutes on foot from the major rail stations. The temple is an active place of worship rather than a museum, so the original placards are kept in protected storage and are not on routine public display. However, the temple grounds, the Oda Mound, and historical signboards explaining the rakuichi-rakuza legacy are freely accessible during daylight hours. Special exhibitions of the placards are occasionally held at the Gifu City Museum of History and other regional museums; checking ahead is recommended.

Getting There

From Meitetsu Gifu Station (the terminus of the Meitetsu Nagoya Main Line, about 30 minutes from Nagoya), Entoku-ji is roughly a five-minute walk north along Kanda-machi-dōri. From JR Gifu Station, it is about an eleven-minute walk. The temple is also a short ride from Gifu-Hashima Station on the Tōkaidō Shinkansen, which puts it within easy reach of travelers based in Nagoya, Kyoto, or Osaka.

When to Visit

The grounds are open year-round. The most atmospheric time to visit is during the Gifu Nobunaga Festival, held on the first weekend of October, when downtown Gifu fills with a procession of armored warriors, period costumes, and historical reenactments commemorating Nobunaga's rule. Entoku-ji hosts associated events during the festival.

Around Entoku-ji

Gifu Castle and Mount Kinka

About a fifteen-minute bus ride north of the temple, Gifu Castle stands atop Mount Kinka—the very stronghold Nobunaga renamed in 1567. A ropeway carries visitors to the summit, where the reconstructed keep offers sweeping views of the Nagara River and the surrounding plain. The castle's exhibition halls display Oda-family artifacts that complement the story told by the rakuichi-rakuza placards.

Kawaramachi Historic District

Along the south bank of the Nagara River, the Kawaramachi district preserves the lattice-windowed merchant houses and earthen storehouses of a riverside port town that flourished thanks to Nobunaga's free market policies. Today it is a Nationally Important Cultural Landscape, with cafes and craft shops occupying many of the historic buildings.

Nagara River Cormorant Fishing

From May through October, the ancient practice of ukai—night fishing with trained cormorants—takes place on the Nagara River. Nobunaga himself entertained guests by inviting them to watch this spectacle, and the tradition has continued for over 1,300 years.

Sōfuku-ji Temple

A short distance away, Sōfuku-ji houses the mausoleums of Oda Nobunaga and his son Nobutada, as well as the haunting "Blood Ceiling" stained with the remains of vassals who died defending Gifu Castle in 1600.