Ainu Salary Accounting System and trade goods obtained by the Ainu chieftains.

2020 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 16K03007
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Historical studies in general
• Research Institution: Hokkaido Museum
• Principal Investigator: AZUMA SHUNSUKE 北海道博物館, 研究部, 学芸員 (30370224)
• Project Period (FY): 2016-04-01 – 2021-03-31
• Keywords: 蝦夷地 / 場所請負制 / アイヌ / 帳簿 / 交易 / 近世 / 江戸時代

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This study analyses the contents of ‘Kita Ezochi You’, an account ledger of the Ushoro basho (trading settlement) which was located on the west coast of Sakhalin (Karafuto), presently Orlovo, Sakhalin Oblast, Russia. The ledger contains records of the amounts of wages and allowances for individual Ainu.
Through analysis of this ledger, we found that three systems of salary accounting existed. The first was the ‘wage calculation’ system, in which the trade office (kaisho) engaged Ainu of ages 13-59 years to perform labor. The second system, ‘care allowance’ (buiku), provided two gou (0.36 litres) of rice per day for each youth of age 5-12 years or senior of age 60 years or older. The third system was a special form of ‘care allowance’ for the elderly, those without families, and those with long-term illnesses. This system provided ‘allowances’ for the long-lived and needy.

Free Research Field

日本史

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

従来の近世蝦夷地研究では、アイヌは和人との交易によって、米、酒、タバコ、漆器、木綿、絹などを入手した、あるいは場所請負制の広がりにより、アイヌが和人の交易相手から働き手へと変化し、搾取・収奪の対象となったという理解が進む一方、こうした事象が起こる仕組みの構造的な分析は進展していなかった。この理由は、和人の商人とアイヌの取引・雇用の詳細がわかる史料（帳簿など）の数が少なく、史料自体の分析も進展してこなかったことにある。本研究は、北蝦夷地の事例ではあるが、帳簿の緻密な分析により、アイヌに対する支配や交易の構造をはじめて明らかにしたことに学術的な意義がある。