Shirojiro Kiyonobu

Chaya Shirôjirô Kiyonobu was the founder of a prominent mercantile Chaya family.

At first he was a ronin, masterless samurai of the Nakajima family. He was crippled in the wars of the Sengoku Period and was adopted into the Chaya family, after what he established a humble business in Kyoto making drapes. Eventually he was appointed by Tokugawa Ieyasu, founder of the Tokugawa Shogunate, as his fabric supplier. By his relationship with Ieyasu he came into great wealth and influence in Kyoto. After his death in 1596, Kiyonobu was succeeded by his son Chaya Shirojiro Kiyotada. The family worked to monopolize the trade in raw silk, and served as official suppliers of a variety of goods to the shogunate.