Changes in a hatamoto lord's finances and the development of local management

Abstract

In the late Edo period, during a period when the local market was growing, local merchants played important roles in the development of both the local economy and local autonomy. Some of the merchants who assisted with local management became involved in the financial administration of the feudal lords, especially hatamoto. This paper examines the ways in which their participation changed the financial system of the hatamoto lord, and the role of the hatamoto lord's finance in the local community. The key finding of this paper is that a budget surplus, known as the "betsukado tsumioki kin", was created and used, not for the lord's own family, but to support local economic development and infrastructure improvement. This paper also shows that repayment to local creditors took precedence over repayment to metropolitan creditors. Furthermore, a deposit of ten percent per annum was set aside for the lord's household and military expenditure, and these funds could not be used for local administration. From this we can see the incentives for local merchants to block cash outflow from the local area and accumulate wealth within. That is to say, their participation changed the hatamoto lord's finances to local public finance.