Abstract
The region of Shirakawa-Go is famous for its particular system of kinship and household structure, known in Japanese as daikazokuseido (the Large-scale household system). Shirakawa-Go is the name of the Edo era feudal administrative territory comprising present day Shirakawa and Shokawa villages in the Hida region of modern day Gifu prefecture. The large-scale households (daikazoku) of Shirakawa-Go have a long and rich history. The exact origins of this system are unclear. It is surmised that they began sometime in the eighteenth century and grew gradually, reaching a peak of development in the early twentieth century. The most intensive concentration of these households was in the Nakagiri area, in the southern part of present day Shirakawa Village.
At the time of peak development, the average membership per household in Shirakawa-Go was roughly thirty members. The largest the Toyama household, had forty-eight members. This essay will analyse the particular structures of labour of the Toyama household, for the period 1853 to 1891.
These particular structures of labour are a system in which the productive labour of household members alternated between the collective efforts of all for the entire household, and small scale production by individuals for personal income. The latter is known as shingai labour (the literal translation of shingai means “new development” ). The main theme of this essay is the concepts and practice of this shingai labour.
