明治前期における郵便事業の展開とコスト削減 : 滋賀県の事例を中心に

抄録

The purpose of this study is to consider how the costs of postal services were reduced in the early Meiji era, through focusing on the case of Shiga prefecture. First, I analyzed revenue and expenditure from all the post offices in Shiga prefecture. The offices can be classified into four main groups by the volume of mail handled and the balance of the accounts : (1) large-scale volume with a surplus balance of accounts, (2) middle-scale surplus, (3) middle-scale deficit, and (4) small-scale balanced. Second, I demonstrated the means of cost reduction in 'inter-city postal networks' and 'local postal networks'. 'Inter-city networks' are lines that followed already existing highways such as the Tokaido and the Nakasendo and connected Tokyo with places of political importance. 'Local networks' are lines that were extended within local areas. The means of cost reduction differed between the two, since in the case of 'Inter-city networks' there was a regular flow of large volumes of mail, whereas in 'local networks' volume was small and the flow was irregular. The most effective means of cost reduction in the case of 'inter-city networks' was caused by changing the mail-carrier from human messengers to horse-led carriages. On the other hand, the most effective means of cost reduction for 'local networks' came from various proposals deliberated by postmasters.