A study on the samurai of the Akita feudal clan developing a rice field newly

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 19K00971
• 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: Akita University
• Principal Investigator: WATANABE Hideo 秋田大学, 名誉教授, 名誉教授 (20191786)
• Project Period (FY): 2019-04-01 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: 日本近世史 / 秋田藩 / 地方知行制 / 新田開発 / 大館

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The number of samurai of the Akita feudal clan living in Odate was 82 in 1627 and increased to 144 in 1751. The total income of samurai living in Odate was 2,552koku in 1627 and increased to 3,893koku in 1751.Almost every samurai living in Odate worked on developing new rice fields. As a result, each of them increased their income, and everyone's total income also increased. The Akita feudal clan encouraged samurai to develop new rice fields. The Akita clan allowed them to claim as their own income the rice they harvested from the rice fields they developed. Of the 144 samurai, only eight did not work on developing new rice fields. The 136 samurai who worked on developing new rice fields can be divided into two patterns based on the type of development. Samurai with high incomes worked on developing new rice fields on a large scale and extensively. In contrast, the development of new rice fields undertaken by low-income samurai was small in scale.

Free Research Field

人文学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

新領国秋田の村方情報を全く持ち得ない状態の佐竹氏が、臣従してきた旧臣に禄を支給したとき、それがどう機能したのか、この点は不明なままこれまで議論されることはなかった。しかし、その禄を六つ成高と理解し、3斗入り1俵の規定と併せ考えることにより、検地実施以前、禄高は知行所不明のまま年貢の俵数を示す指標となったことが説明可能となる。この点を見通した意義は大きい。
秋田藩士は近世を通して新田開発に取り組み、秋田藩にはその高を禄高に繰り入れるシステムがあった。この点を明らかにし、通説では理解できない武家社会が展開をしたことを示したことに意義がある。