The Machikaisho of Edo was a warehouse (Shaso) for rice storage that was set up during the Kansei reform period as a way of ruling Edo. Operating on a budget of 22,000 ryo collected from Edo's landowners, this granary provided relief for famished city dwellers and low-interest loans to landowners. This article attempts to classify the features of this loan operation and its role in the functioning of the Machikaisho as a rice granary. The loans provided by the Machikaisho were the kajichi loan for city residents able to mortgage a small amount of their land, and the hairyo loan for the landowning class able to mortgage rent from land they owned. The kajichi loan thus was for small landowners, and so each loan was small with along repayment term at low interest (4-6% per annum). Since the purpose of these loans was to prevent many small landowners from falling into severe economic troubles and thus preserve their ownership of land, we can notice the strong element of relief in the kajichi loan. The hairyo loan, though in some ways like the kajichi loan, was different in at least one important feature. The borrowers of the hairyo loan were the lower Gokenin class. In fact, most of the Gokenin in Edo had this loan. Thus, the hairyo loan was meant to prop up the lower class of Bakufu retainers. With the relief these loans provided to many city residents the Bakufu's rule of the urban districts of Edo was steady. Also, these loans let the Machikaisho accumulate money, and so its revenues from its loans later became one of the important sources of its income. Yet, in the economic distress during the early Tempo period the loan section of the Machikaisho suffered serious difficulties. The number of people borrowing money from it rapidly declined, since they were unable to repay such loans. From this time on, the function of the Machikaisho reverted to its original one -the storage of rice for the relief of the urban poor, a group whose ranks were increasing enormously and so forced the Machikaisho's function to revert to its original one.

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In 1847 seven clansmen of the Kashgar Khwajas, headed by Katta Tura, with a Kirghiz assistance, crossed the Khokand-Kashgar border, attacked and took the Muslim city of Kashgar. The Khokandian aqsaqal cooperated with them. The seven most certainly included, besides Katta Tura, Kichik Tura, Tavakkul Tura, and Wali Khan Tura ; Aq Chapan Khwaja, or Abdullah, Sabir Khan Tura and Isha Khan, too, may have been among them. The Ch'ing government sent the troops of Ili, Kan-chou, Liang-chou and Su-chou against them. The Khwajas' forces marched on Yarkand and Aksu. But, when they had reached Maralbashi, their way was blocked by the Ch'ing army from Ili, and they were forced to retreat. The Ch'ing forces pushed onto Yangi Hisar, raised its siege and marched straight onto Kashgar. Hearing of this, the Khwajas fled with their booty across the border, after holding the Muslim city of Kashgar for only two or three months. The troops from Kan-chou, Liang-chou and Su-chou went home without reaching Kashgar. The fleeing Khwajas were arrested by the Khokandian sarkar, or the tax collector, as soon as they went back across the Khokand-Kashgar border ; the booty they were carrying was confiscated, and their troops were disbanded. The ghazat of the Seven Khwajas ended as a total failure. But by impressing the Khokandians with how hopelessly undermanned the Ch'ing garrisons were, it opened the way to Ya'qub Beg's sub-sequent conquest of Eastern Turkestan.

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