問屋

• 読み: とんや
• ローマ字: tonya
• 漢字の分解: 問 (ton) — wholesale trading house (archaic); 屋 (ya) — shop, establishment
• 発音: /to.ɴ.ja/

意味

Wholesale dealer; wholesaler; middleman. A business that purchases goods from producers and resells them to retailers.

A noun referring to a wholesale merchant who acts as an intermediary in the distribution chain between producers and retailers. Historically a central institution in Japan's commercial networks since the Edo period. The proverb そう問屋が卸さない (sou tonya ga orosanai) — 'the wholesaler won't sell it that way' — means things don't always go as one expects or wishes.

例文

1. 魚の問屋が築地から豊洲市場に移転して数年が経つ。
2. 問屋を通さずに直接メーカーから仕入れることでコストを削減した。
3. そう問屋が卸さないと言うが、交渉の余地はまだあるはずだ。

使い方ガイド

場面: distribution, trade, retail supply chains

トーン: neutral

起源と歴史

From 問 (ton/mon) meaning 'to inquire' or 'wholesale' (a historical usage) and 屋 (ya) meaning 'shop, house.' The 問 character in this reading is an archaic commercial usage meaning a trading house that deals on behalf of producers.

文化的背景

時代: Edo–Modern

世代: Adults

社会的背景: Merchant class, business