Abstract
I analysed one village that had suffered disaster as the result of repeated floods and examined the relief efforts that I observed from the perspective of a borrower. The help or protection, "osukui", was not managed or intended to provide relief for a single individual but rather was applied to a village and intended to provide relief for a large number of people as members of a unit, in this case, a village. In addition, while it is possible to explore relief efforts through cooperation with neighbouring villages, the relief provided through borrowing assumes that the village itself remains a single unit and that relief is thereby autonomously distributed at the village level rather than at the individual level. However, it is also assumed that a relative group of 5 farmers from the village receives relief and provides returns for the relief, while a borrower must repay in principle for borrowing. Additionally, I address the concept of the duty of the principal and the interest on the return to a feudal lord, as well as the reciprocal relationship. Limits on the relief provided by "osukui" are also clarified.
