Vol. 80, No. 2

Kazuho SAKAI, Changes in a hatamoto lord’s finances and the development of local management

In the late Edo period, during a period when the local market was growing, local merchants played important roles in the development of both the local economy and local autonomy. Some of the merchants who assisted with local management became involved in the financial administration of the feudal lords, especially hatamoto. This paper examines the ways in which their participation changed the financial system of the hatamoto lord, and the role of the hatamoto lord’s finance in the local community. The key finding of this paper is that a budget surplus, known as the “betsukado tsumioki kin”, was created and used, not for the lord’s own family, but to support local economic development and infrastructure improvement. This paper also shows that repayment to local creditors took precedence over repayment to metropolitan creditors. Furthermore, a deposit of ten percent per annum was set aside for the lord's household and military expenditure, and these funds could not be used for local administration. From this we can see the incentives for local merchants to block cash outflow from the local area and accumulate wealth within. That is to say, their participation changed the hatamoto lord’s finances to local public finance.

Toru HOSOYA, Settlement of branch villages in wartime Manchuria and the transformation of home villages:　a case study of Fujimi village, Suwa district, Nagano prefecture

This paper examines historical features of emigration to Manchuria, focusing on the creation of branch villages during the war. Branch villages were designed to have a certain number of farming households and a certain number of acres of farm land based on concepts about the appropriate, manageable size of farms. The policy emphasized emigration of entire families from their home villages in what could be termed an outflow of the rural labor force. However, many of the farmers who emigrated with their families planned to return to their home villages in the future, as we can see from the practice of leaving relatives in charge of farm land in their home village. Thus, there was little evidence of farming households permanently leaving their home villages. The policy was an unrealistic one for farmers, who wanted to protect family assets and preserve the family line. The policy had a marked effect on home villages and settlements once emigrants departed. For example, the large outflow of farm families led to a decline in agricultural productivity due to a shortage of labor. In response, policymakers initiated home village improvement plans. The response by farmers and policies implemented by their home villages were closely related, and this fact profoundly influenced the growth of branch villages.

Tomonori DOI, Reform of the fiscal administration under the late Qing dynasty: a study of the Committee for the Reorganization of the Financial Affairs of the Empire

During the late 19th century the Qing increased public finance, with state income increasing by a factor of six. Under the Qing system, the Ministry of Finance kept records using the baoxiao report system; the newly increased revenues were not included in this reporting system, and were referred to as waixiao. Earlier research has viewed the increase of waixiao as one of the results of the expansion of the authority of regional officials and the weakening of centralized integration. However, this paper shows that a 1908 fiscal reform promoted central control over waixiao, and argues that earlier views of the struggle between regional officials and central authorities over waixiao are only partially true. In some cases the Governor-Generals and Governors made positive efforts to report waixiao, while the Ministry of Finance tried to conceal it. This paper argues against an explanation that sees growing conflict between the regional officials and the central state as a major cause of the collapse of the Qing. We can also see that the reform, which began as part of the effort to change budget planning as part of the institution of constitutional government, offered ideas for the establishment of a budget process under the Republic.

Junichi TANAKA, Regular barge service on the Lower-Rhine in the first half of the nineteenth century: technical innovation and organizational change

During the nineteenth century, Rhine river transportation underwent a multi-faceted transition. One of the sectors affected by that transition was the contract-based regular shipping service using sailing ships, which is the subject of this research note. Earlier research has seen this sector as part of the traditional and monopolistic transport system that collapsed under the impact of liberalization and the introduction of steam-powered towage. This is not wholly correct. The traditional system continued to develop during the long period of transition to a free navigation system, and only disappeared with the introduction of the new technology of steamships.
The paper shows that there was a complicated relationship between system of contract-based shipping, the growth in demand for animal-powered towage and the introduction of steam-powered towage for shipping.

Kiyotaka　MAEDA, Industrial organization in the early 20th century: a case study of the Japan Salt Industry Association

This study explores the role of a trade association in the early twentieth century through an analysis of the contents of newsletters published by the Japan Salt Industry Association (JSIA) from 1896 to 1903.
The results of our analysis are as follows. First, bureaucrats of the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce (MAC) and salt manufacturers in the Setouchi area played central roles in the operation of JSIA. Second, most of the articles in JSIA’s newsletters were written by bureaucrats of the MAC. Third, the contents of the newsletters varied with policy changes for the salt industry and volume of salt imports. The MAC conveyed information about salt industry policies to salt manufacturers through the JASI’s newsletters. In contrast, salt manufacturers did not tend to exchange information within the industry.
JSIA was founded by MAC bureaucrats striving to protect against salt imports in cooperation with salt manufacturers striving to promote salt exports. The role of JSIA’s newsletters was to convey information from MAC to manufacturers.　

Machi SASAI, Silkwomen in late medieval London based on their wills

Silkwomen were skilled craftswomen who were engaged in silkwork mainly in late medieval London. The aim of this article is to examine the social relations of fifteenth and sixteenth century London silkwomen based on their wills. Wills were examined with a focus on people and organizations that appear as recipients of bequests. Then these wills were compared with wills from the same time period of other women and cutlers.
Using the wills, we can create a picture of the silkwomens’ social relations with various individuals and groups, including other silkwomen, various organizations, local communities, and colleagues of their husbands. Although similar relations can also be observed in wills of contemporary London women, relations with their colleagues and male friends can be seen as one of the characteristics of silkwomen’s wills. The comparison of silkwomen’s wills with cutlers’ wills shows that silkwomen, who were not members of a craft guild, relied on different organizations for religious activities and mutual aid—functions that a craft guild would have played. One of the characteristics of the silkwomen, who operated without a craft guild, was the wide range of their social relations.