 Some of these poorer merchants became successful enough to compete with chartered merchants for city administration positions, but many supported themselves by making and selling low cost goods, such as umbrellas and straw sandals, for mass consumption.This signifies that the commoner population of Kanazawa began to generate its own consumption demands, thus stimulating even more growth.Kanazawa flourished largely because of a mutually beneficial relationship between the "daimyō" and the "chōnin".