Generally commerce in tokugawa japan was conducted by oral agreements on the basis of mutual trust and confidence between the parties. because of the trust factor, neither buyer nor seller dared default on an oral contract. if he did, when word got out into the market place, the breaching party would be ostracized.
In summary, tokugawa law consisted of codes,sumptuary and customary laws continued by the tokugawa shogunate during the edo period. sankinkotai, the alternative attendance system, undoubtedly had the singularly greatest impact on the political economy and the development of a centralized feudal mercantile system