商業的畑作農業地域における巨大地主経営の成立過程
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概要
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Gunji Nishimura, a newly risen wholesale dealer in rice and rape oil, started export business of goods produced in Hizen-han and of raw silk immediately after the port of Yokohama was opened. After the Meiji Restoration he joined companies which were established in keeping with the policy of the ministry of commerce and trade, Tsuushohji (通商司). Through these companies he as a seishoh (政商), a businessman with political affiliations, continued trade transactions, began moneylending, and took part in the land development works at Shimousa Pasture. In the 1880's, as he failed to keep abreast with the progress of reorganization of commerce, he gave up the trading activities and expanded the moneylending business, through which he had obtained about 50ha. of land (mainly in a paddy field region) in Chiba Prefecture by 1889. In 1873 when the Company of Land Development of Shimousa Pasture failed, the Government allocated the land to the investers who were big merchants of Tokyo. But the settlers claimed the ownership of the land which they had cleared for themselves and started a movement to obtain it. The Mitsui family and Gunji Nishimura, leading other landowners, instituted a lawsuit against those settlers and judgemennt was given in favour of the plaintiff, with the Government supporting them. Then they began to work tea farms and to lease the cultivated land. Thus the business of the Nishimura family in 1892 was composed of moneylending, land-leasing, and farming, each of which, however, had its problem as follows. Moneylending grew difficult to expand because of the increase of 'modern' banking organs. Farming was unprofitable because of the decrease of the exports of tea. Land-leasing of paddy field was not profitable because of high management expense on account of the remoteness of the leased land, and because of the unrest around the settlement area which was caused by the above mentioned movement of the settlers. So the Nishimuras reformed their business in 1892. Moneylending activities were reduced, about two thirds of the paddy field was; sold, and the money thus withdrawn was invested mainly in railway companies. Working of tea farms was stopped, and livestock breeding was begun. The activities of land-developing and land-leading were expanded. The land-developing activities were successful because they could gather many settlers from the neighbouring districts, where a large number of landless peasants came into existence as some of the landowners expanded the ownerships of land. The landless peasants became poorer and they wanted land to cultivate. The opening of the Sohbu Railway in 1897 also facilitated to bring the settlers. Returns from the rents increased rapidly in the 1890's. The Nishimuras, however, failed in stock speculation in 1896, and in 1905 they lost all the property except the proprietorship of the developed land. Thereafter the Nishimuras were to make an effort to recover their property as a big resident 'village landlord'.
- 社会経済史学会の論文
- 1975-07-30