This research is described in two periods and three parts for history of fishermen's living. There are before Meiji era and After Meiji era, and (1) History of emigrants (2) History of emigrations (3) History of Complications.
(I) History of emigrants
(1) Before Meiji era.
Most emigrants were the dwellers from the Tohoku districts and they came here owing to the natural calamity, famine etc, and most of them were fishermen, therefore they engaged in herring fishery in the Western Ezo districts.
(2) After Meiji era.
Emigrants were planned by the colonization department, most emigrants were for waste land of agriculture. They dwelling in the Eastern Ezo districts and chiefly engaged in cultivation of agricultural village.
(II) History of emigrations
(1) Before Meiji era
Emigrations of Ezo districts were as follows ;
(a) Emigration of fishery contractors (Management of fishery).
(b) Oinishin fishermen (herring fishermen) and Nihatidori emigrants (subcontractors), (c) Ainu (Ezo fishermen) emigrants etc. These emigrations were limited only to the Western Ezo districts herring fishery. (but only C were in the Eastern Ezo and Western Ezo districts.)
(1) After Meiji era
Emigration in the Western Ezo districts was chiefly “labor emigrations” and in the Eastern Ezo districts “fishing ship emigrations”. Mother land of emigrant fishermen are most of the former were the fishermen from Tohoku districts (Aomori, Akita, Iwate and Yamagata) and the latter were from Hokuriku districts. (Niigata, Toyama and Ishikawa)
(III) History of complications
(1) Befor Meiji era
The most notable complication concerning were as follow ;
(a) Petitions for reduction taxes and (b) fishing of large nets (Zaruami and Okoshiami) etc. (a) were complications between feudal lord, feudal officers and fishermen, (b) were complications between contractors and fishermen.
(2) After Meiji era
There were some complications concerning, (a) petitions for the reduction taxes common to those before Meiji era, (b) as a concerning after Meiji era about a fishing right of admission (Iriai) and (c) about right of living for a fishermen etc. (a) were complications between government officers and fishermen. (b) were complications between mutual relation of fishermen. (c) were complications between fishing companies and fishermen. Especially (a) were an outsider of a fishing right and fishermen's cooperative association (fishing union) in today and (b) were an outsider of the labor-management relations or problems in today.
