(See Handout no.2) The Edo period: 1603-1867
From the late 12th century through the 17th century, Japan was ruled by samurais (military leaders) but politics remained unstable. Internal wars and power shifts were very frequent, especially during the late 15th century to the end of the 16th century (called Sengoku Jidai, or warring period). Finally, Ieyasu Tokugawa unified the country after the decisive Battle of Sekigahara (located between Nagoya and Kyoto, visible from Shinkansen) in 1600 and the attacks on Osaka Castle in 1615 where the rival Toyotomi family perished. Ieyasu established a new government in Edo and became the first shogun of the Edo Bakufu in 1603. Edo, a sleepy little town until then, was transformed into a huge political city by aggressive public works including land reclamation, new canals and clean water supply systems. The Tokugawa family ruled the country in the next 264 years (15 shoguns in all). Ieyasu Tokugawa was deified and worshiped in Nikko Toshogu Shrine (even today). We start the story of Japan's economic development from the Edo period because pre-conditions for later industrialization and modernization were created internally during this period (moreover, quantitative data for earlier periods are very limited). The following are the pre-conditions that were generated:
These are the features of the Edo period which are commonly cited by many researchers. The remainder of this lecture discusses them in detail. Note that some of these conditions are not achieved even today in some countries. In fact, developing countries that are equipped with all these conditions are relatively rare. Here are some basic terminology for the Edo period:
The basic characteristics of the Edo society and politics were as follows. (1) It was a class society: The ruling class was samurai (military men who were permitted to carry a sword). Then farmers (ranked no.2), craftsmen (no.3), merchants (no.4). There was a big gap between the samurai class and other classes. Farmers were officially placed no.2 because they paid the rice tax, but they were not particularly respected. Below all of these classes, there were also outcasts (eta and hinin). Imposition of these financial expenses on hans had the effect of weakening the financial capability of hans so they were unable to build military forces to rebel against the Bakufu. Figure 2-1 Bakufu-Han System AgricultureThe Edo society was agrarian (particularly at the beginning) with about 90% of the population being peasants. Later, the ratio declined somewhat. The basic unit of production was the small family. Previously, one farming household often contained many families plus servants. But official land surveys (kenchi) conducted before and after the beginning of the Edo period dismantled the big family system and created small farming units, with each family guaranteed of the land to cultivate. According to the law, peasants had no right to move and were tied to the land as labor force (they were the tax base !) But in reality, some farmers moved to new land, sometimes to avoid a high tax burden, unreasonable policy or famine, but sometimes to look for new land to improve their life. Later, as rural income rose, many well-to-do farmers enjoyed village festivals as well as trips to Ise Shrine and other religious spots (officially for worship, but actually for fun). Villages were well organized and permitted autonomy, as long as they paid rice taxes as stipulated. The rice tax was levied on villages (not individual farmers), and village representatives, who were often themselves farmers, allocated rice tax burden among all villagers. In a sense, they played the role of lowest-level tax administration. Thanks to them, the Bakufu and hans could raise tax revenues with little administrative cost. Prof. Keiichi Tanaka (Edo historian) argues that farmers were very dynamic and independent, and they often rejected Bakufu officials and policies which were inconsistent and unreasonable. (Prof. Tanaka thinks that the Bakufu had no long-term vision and their laws and regulations were ad hoc responses to unfolding events.) There were two ways to determine the rice tax obligation. One was the kemi (inspection) system where an official inspector came to check the actual yield every year. Naturally, village representatives treated the official with lots of food and gifts. Some officials only had drinking parties and did not actually check the fields. The bribed official happily understated the crop output (often very substantially) so villages paid much less taxes. According to Prof. Shinzaburo Oishi (historian), such corruption was an important reason for chronic revenue shortage of the government. On the other hand, if the visiting official was arbitrary and uncooperative, he might raise the tax obligation to the chagrin of the farmers. Another method was the jomen (fixed amount) system where the rice tax was unchanged for three or five years based on the average output of the preceding years. Under this system, the government could expect a more stable tax revenue and also minimize the inspection cost. Farmers borne a greater risk for crop failure, but incentive to produce was also greater (if they worked hard, additional output was all theirs). According to Prof. Tanaka, farmers often preferred the jomen system because they did not want to cope with corrupt officials every year. During the Edo period, agricultural development underwent two phases: from quantitative expansion to qualitative intensification.
From the mid 15th century to the late 17th century (this includes the previous Sengoku Jidai (warring period) as well as the early Edo period), there was an enormous expansion of farmland (especially rice paddies). Earlier, rice was produced in narrow valleys where mountains ended and plains began--this was the only place where constant water supply was available. But during this period, large-scale water projects were carried out all over Japan by daimyos and private farmers to control floods and use rivers for irrigation. As a result, land under cultivation expanded dramatically. The plains, which had hitherto been uninhabitable marshlands, were turned into productive paddy fields. The population increased rapidly (such population growth was very unusual for a pre-modern society). Prof. Shinzaburo Oishi calls this "The Great Age of Opening Fields." After the late 17th century, land expansion came to a halt. The rapid growth of farmland in the previous period also brought some negative effects, including (i) shortage of labor force; and (ii) deforestation and frequent occurrence of floods. From this period onward (even today), Japanese agriculture emphasized intensive cultivation with large inputs of labor and technology, instead of quantitative expansion.
From the 18th century onward, the area of cultivation and population remained relatively stable, but rice output continued to grow thanks to increased productivity. Contributing factors included double cropping, new species of rice, fertilizer (dried fish was popular), and invention of new farming tools. Many guidebooks were published to teach farmers how to produce crops more effectively and efficiently. At the beginning of the Edo period (17th century), peasants produced mainly for family consumption. They ate what they produced and their living standards were at subsistence levels. However, from the middle Edo period, as productivity rose, agricultural surplus was created and peasants began to sell their rice and other crops to the market (which was nationally integrated). Cash crops increased and commercial agriculture began. Officially, all farmers were supposed to belong to (or be tied to) pre-assigned land. But in the 19th century as landless farmers increased, the landlord-tenant relationship began to emerge. Farmers' uprisings (ikki) frequently occurred, especially at the time of famine and toward the end of the Edo period. They were unhappy with taxes, inflation, famine, corrupt officials, or government policies. Budget and moneyThe Bakufu's revenue sources included the following: --Rice tax from land directly held by Bakufu (land not distributed to other daimyos) --Monopoly on mining, foreign trade and minting money --Direct control on major cities (Edo, Kyoto, Osaka, Nagasaki, Sakai, etc) --Financial contributions from merchants in exchange for monopoly & cartel permission --Charges on and borrowings from rich merchants (sometimes not repaid) Hans' revenue included the following: --Rice tax from its territory The entire fiscal system was based on the rice tax. The unit of fiscal account was "koku" (about 180 liters of rice). The han's economic size was measured in koku and samurai's salaries were paid in rice (but of course they had to convert it to cash to buy things). Rice was physically collected from each village and transported to the major rice markets (Osaka was the most important national rice market), then redistributed to the rest of the country. The "koku" size of each han was based on cultivated areas at the beginning, but as new fields were opened and productivity rose, the official "koku" size and the actual "koku" size of each han deviated. This rice-based system had the following consequences: (1) Since rice had to be actually shipped across regions, this tax system required a nationally unified transportation and distribution mechanism. Private merchants provided such services but the Bakufu and han governments often guided and supported them. Land transportation (on horseback) was very costly and inefficient, so sea and river transportation was mainly used. Money consisted of both gold and silver. Gold was popular in Edo and silver was mainly used in Osaka. Copper money was also used for small transactions. Hans could also issue local paper money. Inflation rose at the time of famine and accelerated toward the end of the Edo period (especially after international trade was resumed). Transportation and commerce
The Bakufu designated five official highways and opened major sea lanes. But private inns, restaurants, shippers, baggage carriers, etc. provided the necessary service. Farming villages near the highway were required to provide horses when necessary (part of their nontax obligation). Sankin kotai (bi-annual commuting by daimyos) also stimulated the development of the road system. At the same time, due to military reasons, Bakufu did not encourage free movement of people and merchandise. At major check points, sekisho (passport controls) were created. Some rivers were left without bridges, intentionally and for military reasons. Hans were not allowed to build ships or maintain navy. As noted above, from the beginning, the Edo tax system presupposed a nationally unified rice market. Development of cash crops and handicrafts also stimulated nationwide commerce. Osaka was the commercial center with many rich merchants and money lenders, while Edo was a political center and consumption city. Naturally, the sea lane between the two cities was well developed. In Osaka, the futures market in rice emerged (this is said to be the first futures market in the world). The Bakufu's policy towards commerce and industry was variable and inconsistent. Sometimes the central government tried to control and tax private businesses. Other times free economy was permitted. Cartels were sometimes imposed and other times prohibited. Among historians, opinions differ as to whether the Edo economy was more dynamic under free market policy or pro-cartel policy. Prof. Tetsuji Okazaki (Tokyo University) tries to show that estimated GDP grew faster during the time when cartels were permitted than when they were banned. He argues that trade cartels were a positive factor for the development of the Edo economy rather than an impediment. However, his data and regressions may be too crude to be decisive. Toward the end of the Edo period, many hans and local cities developed economically. As a result, direct trading among them (without the intervention of Osaka merchants) began. The center of economic activity gradually moved eastward, from Kansai (Osaka, Kyoto) to Edo and Eastern Japan. Many markets (not just rice, but almost everything) were nationally integrated. IndustryAs agriculture and commerce grew, pre-modern manufacturing (handicrafts, food processing) also began to develop. For example, the following products were produced:
In order to enrich local population and increase tax revenue, many hans promoted local industries, and some even succeeded (S. Nishikawa and M. Amano, 1989). For example,
These are just a few examples. Many other hans were engaged in industrial promotion, including Choshu han (paper, wax), Yonezawa han (safflower, lacquer wax), Akita han (silk and silk dress), Hizen han (pottery, coal), Higo han (lumber, silk), and so on. But we should not forget that there were many hans which were less successful and deeply in debt. They borrowed money from big private merchants but never repaid. Education
The popularity of education in the Edo period is often cited as the cause of fast industrialization in later periods. Education in this period ranged from the recondite study of Chinese philosophy and literature at public schools to children's primary education at private schools. More specifically, four types of learning institutions were important.
Additional Questions & Answers<References> Dore, Ronald P., Education in Tokugawa Japan, University of Michigan Center, 1984. Iwanami Shoten, Keizai Shakai no Seiritsu: 17-18 seiki, Nihon Keizaishi 1 (Establishment of Economic Society: 17th-18th Centuries, Japanese Economic History vol. 1), A. Hayami & M. Miyamoto, eds, 1988. Iwanami Shoten, Kindai Seicho no Taido, Nihon Keizaishi 2 (Signs of Modern Development, Japanese Economic History vol. 2), H. Shimbo & O. Saito, eds, 1989. Nishikawa, Shunsaku, and Masatoshi Amano, "Shohan no Sangyo to Keizai Seisaku" (Industries and Economic Policies of Hans) in Iwanami Shoten, 1989. Oishi, Shinzaburo, Edo Jidai (The Edo Period), Chuko Shinsho no.476, 1977. Okazaki, Tetsuji, Edo no Sijokeizai: Rekishiseidobunseki kara Mita Kabunakama (The Market Economy of Edo: Trade Cartels from the Viewpoint of Historical Institutional Analysis), Kodansha Sensho Metier 155, 1999. Saito, Osamu, Proto Kogyoka no Jidai (The Age of Proto-Industrialization), Nihon Hyoronsha, 1985. Tanaka, Keiichi, Hyakusho no Edo Jidai (The Edo Period Led by Farmers), Chikuma Shinsho, 2000. |