近世瀬戸内地域における石材業の展開と石工

抄録

In the Inland Sea area in the early-modern period there were many craftsmen who spent their time traveling wherever there was a demand for their expertise. This paper examines the role of traveling stone-masons in the overall framework of the stonedealing business of the period. In the latter half of the early-modern period, a rapid expansion in the land under rice cultivation in the area created a commercial demand for stone. On the supply side, newstyle businesses which combined the processes of excavation and transport took over from traditional traders. On the demand side, newly emerging networks of local stonedealing bosses, smaller local businessmen, and traveling stone-masons were endangering the traditional stone-masons. In other words, the traveling stone-masons did not travel because they enjoyed freedom on the labor market, but because they played a particular role in the social structure of the stone-dealing business. This social structure developed because of the rich stone resources of the area and its geographical role as a major naval transportation route. It therefore represents a division of labor particular to this area in the early-modern period.