■書籍行商人（しょせきぎょうしょうにん）
中世末から近世にかけて実在した職業（これは本当）。
文字通り、本類を担いで田舎の町々を訪問し、販売・貸し出しをして廻った行商人。田舎の農夫らは自身の本など所持していない事が多いため、彼ら書籍行商人のような存在が政治的ニュースの伝達やインテリジェンスの向上に一役買った側面もある（これも本当）。
ただし、書籍行商人が扱う物は禁書や風刺文や予言書、あるいはコミティア系同人誌など胡散臭いものが多く、彼ら自身胡散臭い存在とされ、情報の正しい伝達というよりは、ゴシップの流布という視点で語られる事が多い（だいたい本当）。
余談であるが、売れ残った同人誌の段ボールの山が旧約聖書においてバベルの塔と呼ばれた事はつとに有名である（）。

Book peddler
This is an occupation that existed from the end of the middle ages through recent times (this is true).
Just as the name says, they were peddlers who visited towns in the countryside, selling and lending books. Since the peasants in the countryside often didn't have their own books, people such as book peddlers also took on the role of delivering political news and improving intelligence (this is also true).
However, among the items that book peddlers dealt with were prohibited books, satire, and books of predictions, or even COMITIA doujinshi; with so much shady stuff, they themselves were treated as shady people, and were often considered to circulate gossip rather than delivering true information (mostly true).
As an aside, the mountain of cardboard boxes containing unsold doujinshi is referred to in the Old Testament as the Tower of Babel, and has been famous for a long time ().