Japanese Multiple Jobholding Farming

: Those Historical Nature and Contemporaneous Meaning

Abstract

　　　The aim of this paper is to consider historical nature and contemporaneous meaning of Japanese multiple jobholding farming（MJF）. In Japan, MJF have been considered as a transient existence. This is because a paradigm that regards progress and development of market economy as a universal law was dominated in social sciences after World WarⅡ. In contrast, this paper argues that the MJF is rather a universal form of farming by recognizing the essence of agriculture seen historically from the concept of subsistence. Japan's historical research has recently developed the concept of subsistence. Family sociology is also doing new research on the Japanese Ie（family）. Those latest researches and various facts show that Japanese agriculture still maintains the Ie（family） and Mura（community） structure as the foundation. In fact, Japanese agricultural administration has also used the Mura（community）function in various policies. The important thing in these cases is the fact that the Mura（community） function has been fulfilled by the participation of multiple jobholding farm households as normal members. On the other hand, the globalization of the economy and the depopulation have dramatically reduced the number of Japanese farm households. Therefore, an important question today is the evaluation of MJF in Japanese agriculture. This paper reviewed the controversy of Nakajima and Sakamoto in the 1980s on this question. In that controversy, Sakamoto suggested that MJF have important roles in multiple functions of agriculture for the local community. In conclusion, this paper insists that the basic structure of Ie and Mura still continues despite of modifications by its surrounding, and calls on academicians and agricultural policies to change the view of MJF more positive based on Sakamoto’s evaluation of MJF.