The aim of this paper is to contribute to the discussions on who are the main actors in Japanese agriculture by examining the concept of “nouka” (farm household) as a unit of agriculture used for purposes of analysis. Japanese agriculture is still characterized as based on family farming, not only by Marxian economists, but by neo-classical economists as well. Both insist that family farming is doomed to disappear. This paper will first examine this belief based on the concepts introduced in Farm Family Business by Ruth Gasson and Andrew Errington (CAB International, 1993) . In this study, Gasson and Errington conclude that ‘family farming is far more resilient than previously supposed.’ Second, two concepts, family and household, will be compared in light of the debate over which is superior as a basic unit in analyzing Japanese agriculture. The answer is that the household, because of its function of pooling income, which in turn enables household members to survive and farm income to stabilize, acts as the critical strategic unit. Third, the land tenure system in Japan is examined by identifying the main actors in the modern history of farming. The conclusion is that the peasant proprietorship system established in the Edo era still determines the agricultural structure in Japan. Lastly, this paper introduces the concept of “small-scale operation,” and identifies farming activities as a sub-concept of farm household in order to articulate that farming income as well as non-farm income are included as Japanese farm household income.

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　　　The purpose of this article is to clarify the management and lifestyle of the eighth Japanese emigrant group to Daihachiro by comparing this with the earlier experimental emigrant groups (1932～35). The branch villages started to be invited to Manchuria in 1938. The objective of such invitations was to overcome the weak points shown by earlier experimental emigrant groups.
　　　It was demanded that emigrant peasant groups conduct joint management and community life for five years, diversify farm operations and lead a self-sufficient life in order to provide for themselves production and living means after settlement. They, however, were inefficient because of (1) the existence of families, and (2) confrontation between fellow peasants and other members of society. These endeavors ended in failure only 1～2 years earlier than those of the experimental emigrant groups.
　　　In the individualized management, the peasants had originally relied on their wives’ labor much more than the experimental emigrants had. It turned out that those wives were not involved in farming, and the peasants ended up hiring heavily local labor. In addition, they needed to purchase daily necessities. But Labor wages increased, and because of this, their farm management was on the brink of going bankrupt. Furthermore, steep rises in commodity prices along with supporting many dependents aggravated the economy of these emigrant peasants. Consequently, they were obliged to spoil their farmland and become landowners. Their farmland went fallow. In the end, they became unable to raise living expenses.
　　　As a consequence, those Daihachiro emigrant peasants not only failed to resolve the problems with the experimental emigrant farmers but also further aggravated the situation and expedited the decline of emigrant farming. They played no role during the war years.

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　　　Firstly it should be pointed out that the transfers of land in the Kami-shiojiri Village did not always involve someone taking complete possession of the land but were deals with many conditions attached some of which by modern standards seem to be strange and peculiar in this article. Secondly, what kind of Ies participated in actual land possession and the transfers is examined.
　　　In Kami-shiojiri-village, the transfers in land needed not only the agreement of contractors but also the consent of a specific Kin Dozoku which maintained close relations. And, the village government official recorded the contracts after confirming their agreement, and it was guaranteed. Because, a complex transfers in land was frequently done in Kami-shiojiri-village. Substantially, mortgagers bore the land tax or mortgages bore the land tax even if the land was mortgaged. The Kandaka which was described in the Kandaka-nayose-cho was a standard of the land tax, and it did not point to actual land holdings. We cannot understand how much land was actually held of each Ie only by the Kandaka-nayose-cho. Actual land hold was understood by the confirmation of parties concerned only in the village.
　　　Moreover, when the land (residence) in the Ie which faced especially the crisis of continuance was moved, Kin Dozoku which had economic power and kept close relation with that Ie became a guarantor, and which they exercised their influence on.

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　　　The purpose of this paper is to consider an environmental policy from a perspective of the residents on the shore of Lake Kasumigaura. So far, various policies were attempted against the considerably polluted water of Kasumigaura, the second largest lake in Japan. Some of these policies, for example, were to enlighten people’s environmental consciousness or to control the water pollution. However, most of these attempts were not remarkably effective. Therefore, this paper tries to understand the residents’ image of Kasumigaura by referring to the religious symbol of the shore, Suijin, a sort of guardian deity of water.
　　　By looking at the functions and the distribution of Suijin throughout Kasumigaura, the paper clarified how the residents maintain the relationship with Suijin. Firstly, people by the shore communicate with Suijin through community. Secondly, their relationship was intentionally maintained durable through the lasting character of community. Furthermore, through the Suijin’s mediation, the residents on the shore pursue the relationship with the lake Kasumigaura at the aspect of Buji, a status of safe and calm social relationship.
　　　From the above investigations, the paper argues that the environmental policy has to secure the social relationship in the local communities, which enable the residents to communicate with the lake.

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