 The Japanese economy grew rapidly throughout the 17th century, culminating in the period known as Genroku (1688–1704) during which merchants prospered like never before.It was at this time that rice brokers and moneychangers (両替商, "ryōgaeshō") gathered their shops and warehouses in the Dōjima area; the Rice Exchange can be said to have been established in 1697, the year it received a license from the shogunate.Since members of the samurai class, including daimyō (feudal lords) were paid in rice, not cash, the rice brokers and moneychangers played a crucial, and incredibly profitable, role in the emerging early modern economy of Japan.