The Making of Large Landlord at Shonai in the Edo Period : Case Study of the Akino Family

Abstract

There were various sizes of landlord domains in the rice monoculture area, which was the core of the landlordism in Japan. Many researchers have analyzed the landlord-tenant relations in the Shonai plain, but researchers' opinions on their historical characteristics are not consistent with each other. The aim of this paper is to clarify characteristics of the making of large landlord in the Edo Period, by a case study of the Akino family the second largest landlord at Shonai in the Edo Period. The entry areas on the land surveying books were different from the actual ones at Shonai in the Edo Period. The quantity of farm rent in kind, so-called "watariguchimai" which characterized the landlord-tenant relations in this period was estimated by "karimoto". The "karimoto" were the number of harvested riceplants that indicated the actual area of paddy field. The term "nawanobi" refers to the difference between the registered area on the land surveying books and the actual area. Under the high feudal rent in kind, it was very profitable to hold "nawanobi". The wealthy peasantries and the merchants accumulated "nawanobi". The merchants got a large quantity of farm rent in kind from "nawanobi". On the other hand, the wealthy peasantries cultivated "nawanobi" to obtain high profits, and leased out other parts of their holding. The Akino family was in possession of 273 ha of land in the early Meiji era. At the beginning, the Akino family was a port-town-merchant. Akinos' holding increased rapidly in the Bunka-Bunsei era (1804-1829). In this era, the Akino family lent the wealthy peasantries and the merchants a large amount of money, and obtained "nawanobi" through moneylending. The major sources of income for the Akino family were farm rent in kind from "nawanobi" in the later Edo Period.