Haishakukin (borrowed money) (拝借金)
Haishakukin (borrowed money) was money that the Edo bakufu (Japanese feudal government headed by a shogun) lent without interest to daimyo (Japanese feudal lord) and hatamoto (direct retainer of the Edo bakufu) as a means of financial support. It was also called Ontai (sympathy loan) since it was deemed to be a benefit given from the bakufu.
The oldest example of Haishakukin that can be confirmed from the record was the one at the time of Osaka Fuyu no Jin (Winter Siege of Osaka) during Osaka no Eki (The Siege of Osaka), at which time, Edo-jo Castle was under construction, therefore it seems that the loan was issued in consideration of the double burden of the construction and the military service. Records show that Haishakukin was lent to Kaga Domain for thirty thousand ryo, to Sendai Domain for fifteen thousand ryo, and to domains in Saigoku (western part of Japan) such as Himeji Domain, Wakayama Domain, and Saga Domain for two hundred kanme (unit of weight) of silver respectively. Later, Haishakukin was often lent after a fire disaster, flood disaster and the like.
Especially at the time of the Great Fire of Meireki, Daimyo families affected by the fire were permitted a loan payable over ten years based on their kokudaka (crop yield.)
Examples of Haishakukin loans included for damage to the castle, disaster and bad harvest in the territory, execution of official business under the orders of the bakufu such as the reception of Imperial envoys or Chosen Tsushinshi (Korean envoys), changing the territory, accession to a post in bakufu (e.g., Kyoto shoshidai [the Kyoto deputy], Osaka jodai [the keeper of Osaka-jo Castle], ongoku-bugyo [the collective name of the magistrates placed at important areas directly controlled by the government in the Edo period].)
Furthermore, it seems that the standard of the loan was easy with the Tokugawa Shogun families such as Tokugawa gosanke (three privileged braches of Tokugawa family), and persons who held the posts of roju (senior councilor of the Tokugawa shogunate), wakadoshiyori (a managerial position in Edo bakufu), and Kyoto shoshidai eligible for Haishakukin. In addition, in the late Edo period, Haishakukin was issued to hatamoto and gokenin (an immediate vassal of the shogunate) to help their life of privation, or to people who were not samurai (warriors) to maintain temples, shrines, shukuba-machi (post-station towns), the rice price, and the like.
(In the case of the rice price, fudasashi [a trader who received or sold rice preserved in a depository by the Edo Shogunate and domains on behalf of the government] and rice warehouse merchants were eligible for Haishakukin.)
Towards the end of Edo Period, Haishakukin was also issued for military build-up of coastal defenses and as a remedy for economic turmoil. Because of financial difficulties of the bakufu itself, the standard of Haishakukin was tightened to curb the contribution in the late Edo period, however, the balance of Haishakukin at the end of 1842 came to about 120,000 ryo. Haishakukin was a necessary measure to maintain the feudal system characteristic of the shogunate, however, at the same time, it was one of the factors that worsened the financial affairs of the bakufu.