In the Edo period, trade and manufacture, which started in the Kamakura period, markedly developed and such counties as Inukami, Echi, Kanzaki, Gamo, and Takashima, especially Hachiman (Omihachiman City), Hino-cho (Shiga Prefecture) and Gokasho-cho produced a lot of Omi merchants.
また江戸時代には、鎌倉時代から続く商工業が飛躍的に発達し、犬上・愛知・神崎・蒲生・高島の各郡、特に八幡(近江八幡市)・日野町(滋賀県)・五個荘町などから近江商人を多く輩出した。