割山制度の村と農地改革

愛知県八名郡山吉田村の場合

抄録

In this report we hope to elucidate the following point :
1) What form of village-ruling structure has developed in the village studied through the economic development since the Meiji Restoration (1868), and
2) what form did the land reform take and with what consequences ? In other words, in what degree can its aim be said to have been realized, that is, “the revival and strengthening of democratic tendencies” in the rural area ?
The majority of the ruling elites of this village before the land reform were farmers who had risen in the economic hierarchy through the profit from sericulture which had become made spread since about 1900. They owned 2.5 to 7.5 acres of arable land and 12.5 to 17.5 acres of forest. They constituted about 15% of the 504 farmers in this village and almost of them were owner-farmers.
Such people had occupied the leading positions in each buraku (sub-community) by the subordination of the members of their kinship groups and tenants. Moreover, as representatives of each buraku, they controlled the village administration. An important fact to be noted is their predominant positions by gaining control of the management of the community owned forests which covered some 2500 acres. Including the Wariyama system the community-owned forest system in this village was forcibly created by them in 1913, after the several years' conflict against middle or lower status farmers.
As a result of the land reform, their positions in the village were shaken considerably in the first phase. They had to contend against the farmers' union for the distribution of land and leadership in village administration. The farmers' union organized the middle and lower status farmers and, in consequence of the political situation of that time n Japan, enjoyed superiority over the former ruling structure. But the farmers' union, which took upon itself the role of driving force of land reform, failed to root in the village life and has weakened rapidly. Particularly after its leaders tried to obtain the partition of the forest land, the loss of its position was marked. At this point, the old élites, who had lost self-confidence temporarily, manipulated public opinion and succeeded in isolating the farmers' union. As a result they were able to re-stabilize their positions.
In conclusion, the democratising movement in this village which budded with the land reform failed to disorganize the traditional solidarity of the village and gave way. We may point out as the main factors in this process :
1) Because of failure to secure the partition of forests in the land reform, the economic basis of the middle and lower status farmers in this village, which was heavily dependent upon forestry, was not adequately strengthened.
2) The farmers' union was organized by non-farm leaders and the farmers were not familiar with its activities. For these reasons the farmers' union could not develop enough to disorganize the traditional solidarity.
3) The changing in the political situation in Occupied Japan, most marked since about 1949, has been a favorable factor in the revival of the old élite groups.