Frontier Society Revisited: Life stories on migratory workers on board

2018 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 16K13121
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Area studies
• Research Institution: Hitotsubashi University
• Principal Investigator: Akamine Jun 一橋大学, 大学院社会学研究科, 教授 (90336701)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 椙本 歩美 国際教養大学, 国際教養学部, 助教 (90648718)
• Project Period (FY): 2016-04-01 – 2019-03-31
• Keywords: 食生活誌学 / 季節労働者 / 高度経済成長 / 遠洋捕鯨 / 貨幣経済

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This research investigated roles of migratory workers from Akita Prefecture and Aomori Prefecture who went on board to Northern and Southern Oceans in pursuit of salmons and whales. These fisheries was operated by factory ships and thus highly labor-intensive, which needed lots of workers. Workers both from Akita and Aomori played important roles in such fisheries which earned lots of foreign currency. However, such historical fact is hardly unknown neither national nor prefectural level. It may probably be due to the fact such recruiting having done by personal networks. Thus, it is necessary to collect as many personal histories as possible. Along with academic interests, civil drama groups are interested in performing their histories depending on such oral histories collected by themselves. Such activities should be collaborated with academic activity, which will open possibility of local history studies.

Free Research Field

食生活誌学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

これまでの捕鯨史においては、捕鯨業の花形たる砲手ばかりが脚光を浴びてきた。砲手のほとんどは、長崎県や高知県、和歌山県など、いわゆる古式捕鯨時代からの捕鯨の伝統を継承する地域の出身者である。しかし、工船による遠洋捕鯨は、さまざまな労働が細かく分かれており、なかには季節労働者として乗船した者も少なくない。その代表が秋田県と青森県の農村から参加した人びとである。農家出身というのも、かれらが従事した職種が砲手ではなく、もっぱら工場の作業であったためである。これらの労働者が、高度経済成長期以前に、そうした農村における貨幣経済の浸透に一役買ったことは、あらためて考察する必要がある。