Kurashiki had been developed as a location where the rice produced in the area was collected and distributed by utilizing shipping along the Kurashiki-gawa River. In the Yedo period (1603 - 1867), it became a shogunal demesne, and further matured as the center of political, economical, and cultural activities in the area. The local power holders such as municipal officials and land owners were the ones who controlled commerce. They were called Koroku Shonin, meaning old merchants. They commanded politics and finance to be immersed in wealth and prosperity. However, in the 18th century, another power against the old authority came to the fore. Those new merchants, called Shinroku Shonin, had succeeded as middlemen for the cotton and dried sardine business before they moved to Kurashiki. The new merchants often confronted with the old merchants who dominantly ruled municipal politics, until finally in 1790, the new comers sued to end the domination and wrongdoing of the old merchants. The new merchants won in the trial, and they would soon dismiss the corrupted officials as well as to introduce the election system. That was a considerable contribution to the rise in status of the farming village. Most of the storehouses presently located in the Bikan Historical Quarter belonged to the new merchants including Kojima-ya, ancestor of the Ohara family.
