2005 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
A Study on the Local Economy and Formation of Landlordism in the Early Meiji Era (1868-1912)
| Project/Area Number |
15580190
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
Agro-economics
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| Research Institution | UTSUNOMIYA UNIVERSITY |
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Principal Investigator |
OGURI Yukiteru Utsunomiya University, Agriculture, Professor, 農学部, 教授 (50160461)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2003 – 2005
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| Keywords | MODERN HISTORY / ECONOMIC HISTORY / AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS |
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| Research Abstract |
By 1920s, in the rural district of Mashiko, Tochigi Prefecture, the property holdings of the moneylending Kato family had grown to 60 hectares. This study aims to clarify when and how they established their status as large landlords and moneylenders.
In the 1870s the Katos were moneylenders, but their financing activities shrank due to deflation in the 1880s. However, between 1890 and 1910 they developed again by meeting the needs of borrowers such as manufacturers, merchants (including Mashiko potteries), or successful farmers. The Kato family's moneylending business illustrates that throughout the Meiji era, when local banking was yet undeveloped, landlord's financial activities helped stimulate rural industrial development.
After the recovery of debts in the 1880s, the Kato family emerged with holdings of 10 thousand yen in regal land value in 1890. Though some historians consider landowners holding over 10 thousand yen in land value at that time to be large landlords, the Kato family's land acquisition was too recent for them to be ranked as large landlords. Even in the 1890s, they faced the possibility of borrowers redeeming or repurchasing pawned land. By 1910, the Kato family had established their status as large landlords, when their land holdings stabilized at 50 hectares.
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Research Products
(3 results)
