Abstract
The aim of this paper is to contribute to the discussions on who are the main actors in Japanese agriculture by examining the concept of “nouka” (farm household) as a unit of agriculture used for purposes of analysis. Japanese agriculture is still characterized as based on family farming, not only by Marxian economists, but by neo-classical economists as well. Both insist that family farming is doomed to disappear. This paper will first examine this belief based on the concepts introduced in Farm Family Business by Ruth Gasson and Andrew Errington (CAB International, 1993) . In this study, Gasson and Errington conclude that ‘family farming is far more resilient than previously supposed.’ Second, two concepts, family and household, will be compared in light of the debate over which is superior as a basic unit in analyzing Japanese agriculture. The answer is that the household, because of its function of pooling income, which in turn enables household members to survive and farm income to stabilize, acts as the critical strategic unit. Third, the land tenure system in Japan is examined by identifying the main actors in the modern history of farming. The conclusion is that the peasant proprietorship system established in the Edo era still determines the agricultural structure in Japan. Lastly, this paper introduces the concept of “small-scale operation,” and identifies farming activities as a sub-concept of farm household in order to articulate that farming income as well as non-farm income are included as Japanese farm household income.
