Status of Fukuyama Giso in the formative period of the modern law system

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 21K00862
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 03020:Japanese history-related
• Research Institution: Hiroshima University of Economics
• Principal Investigator: Hirashita Yoshinori 広島経済大学, 経済学部, 准教授 (20780810)
• Project Period (FY): 2021-04-01 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: 近代法体系 / 商法 / 民法 / 義倉 / 義倉社

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This study investigated why famine-relief funds from the Edo era contributed to local society in the Meiji era. The most important reason was modern law. This study focuses on Fukuyama Gisosha. Although it had vast land, the ownership was unclear. The financing business was excess loan and had to depend on income from the land to keep it running. Thus, a special account was created to make its charity active. Formerly, it tended to give money to the villages of executives, and to where its land was. Later, it donated money to all the locals. However, Gisosha had some legal problems. Gisosha did not have an enough judicial grounds, and so the locals had insufficient legal protection. Once modern law was legislated, it withdrew from financial businesses, and became a foundation with a profit division. Thus, modern law remedied the lack of law and order in Gisosha. Modern law compelled Gisosha to contribute more as an organization for local society, despite its inadequacies.

Free Research Field

日本史

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究の成果として最も強調されるべき学術的意義は、法制史研究と地域社会史研究を統合した分析手法を確立したことである。具体的に言えば、法理論が義倉社に与えた影響を論じつつ、地域の多様な史料を総合的に検討したことにより、分野横断的な研究成果を挙げることに成功した。近年、法理論と実体経済の関係を問題にする研究が盛んであるが、それらが法制を経済発展に適合的なものとして捉える傾きがあったことに対して、本研究は、法制整備による公共性の拡充を明らかにするという新たな論点を付け加えるものであった。