Vol. 68, No. 3

Tomoko ICHIMARU
The distinctive uses of two monetary units, guanwen and dingliang, in Yuan China (1260~1368) as recorded in 'Heicheng chutuwenshu' and 'Huizhou qiyuewenshu'

Two different units of paper money or chao, guanwen and dingliang, coexisted in the Yuan dynasty. In this paper, historical documents such as 'Heicheng chutuwenshu' [Heicheng Artifact Documents] and 'Huizhou qiyuewenshu' [Huizhou Contracts] are analyzed in order to reexamine these units. The generally-accepted view is that dingliang was a unit of the Yuan governmental currency derived from silver weighing, and was also in common use; on the other hand, guanwen functioned only as a printed unit on chao, and was rarely used.

However, the documents suggest that the units functioned in different ways. First, there was a regional difference in public commerce, with dingliang being used in Dadu and the northwestern part of the Yuan, while guanwen were used in Jiangnan. Second, although guanwen was dominant in Jiangnan, dingliang was still used for government financial affairs. In other words, the monetary system of Yuan China had a multiplex structure.

In terms of the overall development of currency in China, it therefore seems likely that the Yuan was an important era of transition from dingliang to a silver currency system. In addition, there seems to have been continuity in the public use of guanwen throughout the Song, (the Jin), the Yuan and the Ming dynasties from tenth to seventeenth centuries.

WEN Juan
Early Meiji land tax reform and the relationship between central and local government, with special reference to the protesting villages (fufukumura) of the seven counties of Echizen

The implementation of land tax reform in the early Meiji period provoked various types of confrontations, but the core problem was confrontation on the level of the government and the farmers. Previous studies have made it clear that such confrontations were caused by the high levels of the new land taxes and the forcible and authoritarian way in which they were imposed. However, little work has been done on the possible effects of the feuding between central and local government which was occurring at this time. What form did this feuding take during the implementation of the reforms, and did it influence the reforms in any way?

This paper focusses on the actions of the central government, local government and farmers during the implementation of land tax reform in the seven counties of Echizen (Fukui prefecture). The object is to demonstrate that confrontations existed simultaneously at all levels (central versus local government, central government versus farmers and local government versus farmers). In addition we will see that all these confrontations had an influence on the implementation of the land tax reform.

Genjiro TAKENAGA
Opposition to parliamentary enclosures: a case study of the parish of Princes Risborough (Buckinghamshire)

The purpose of this paper is to show how opposition to enclosure plans was able to mitigate their effect by examining the example of an enclosure planned in the parish of Princes Risborough in 1819. The plan was put forward by the lord of the manor, large landowners and their agents, but it was opposed by local inhabitants such as traders and small landowners because of the cost burden and the negative effect on the poor. The opposition was powerful, but its position was undermined, and the Enclosure Act was passed in 1820. The group in favour of the enclosure tried to increase their support through land sales to reduce costs drastically, and by providing compensation for the poor.
As a result of the enclosure, a small number of large landowners were able to increase their holdings, but a lot of small landowners (many of them absentee landlords) disappeared. The 1831 Census, which was carried out some years after the enclosure, shows that the ratio of those who obtained land as a result and stayed in the parish was much higher than that of those who did not obtain land. In other words, the damage done by this enclosure was relatively small.

Eiji YAMAMURA
Human capital and the development cycle of industrial clusters: a case study of garment production in the Bingo region of Japan

This paper explores the changing role of human capital in response to factors such as the formation of industrial clusters, changes in marketing channels, and the relocation of the industrial base to less developed areas in foreign countries. It is based on a case study of a garment cluster in the Bingo region (Hiroshima prefecture) from 1968 to 1998.
The analysis indicates that local traders played a leading role in launching the new business since they were the only people with market information in an isolated rural area. The lack of market information, including marketing channels and trends in demand, can cause difficulties when starting a new enterprise. In such circumstances, it is likely that traders play an important role. In addition, it became clear that the amount of formal schooling received by entrepreneurs became a key factor when quality improvement and the development of new markets were necessary. The analysis also found that the geographical relocation of the production base from Bingo to China and other areas made a significant contribution to the development of enterprises in the Bingo area.