明治期における清酒流通の構造変化とその担い手

抄録

This paper clarifies the reasons and conditions for the entry of large-scale sake brewers into local markets after the 1900s, in relation to the competition among production centers, makers and wholesalers, and the Tokyo and local markets. Considering the comparatively rich literature of studies analysing the structure of production of the modern Japanese brewing industry, this study aims at a more comprehensive understanding of the dynamic linkages of production, distribution and market through the medium of local distributors. Particular attention is paid to the role of distribution in the reproduction of the whole economy centering on change in distribution systems, focusing on the business history of local distributors. Nada and Chita are two regional centers of Japanese sake production, both of which had already been established in the Edo period. However, they showed different trajectories of development during the Meiji period. Nada accomplished further growth and expanded its market throughout the country. On the other hand, Chita did not expand, but narrowed its market. For example, Tatsuuma-Honke in Nada, which had led the Japanese sake brewing industry during the pre-World War II period, was able to take the initiative in transactions with local wholesale stores, which would not have been possible in Tokyo, and this led to rising sales in local areas after the Meiji 30s. This paper shows that the shift of the predominant position from wholesale stores to makers progressed in local areas first, before it happened in Tokyo. Another significant factor in the change of market structure was the large role played by local wholesale stores like Nakano-Saketen. This was also connected with the change in the Japanese sake market structure. Although they had from the very beginning integrated the functions of production and distribution, local distributors installed by brewing capital developed rapidly, demonstrating that they could function independently as wholesalers. This became the condition for the opening up of local markets to large-scale Japanese sake brewers. This conclusion is the key point of this paper and represents a new contribution to the history of this field of research.