The Kan'ei Famine

Japanese: 寛永の飢饉 - かんえいのききん

The first major famine of the Edo period was caused by a poor harvest in 1641-42 (Kan'ei 18-19). Chronic peasant exhaustion and the resulting devastation of farmland had been evident throughout the 1630s, but the Shimabara Rebellion in 1637 exacerbated the exhaustion of rural areas with the requisition and mobilization of large amounts of military food and military service, mainly in Kyushu. In 1640, rinderpest spread throughout the country, mainly in western Japan, and in Kyushu a large number of cattle died, severely affecting agriculture. The following year, 1641, western Japan was hit by drought and also suffered damage from insect pests, while the Hokuriku, Kanto, and Tohoku regions were hit by damage from long periods of rain and cold air, resulting in a major crop failure nationwide.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

1641‐42年(寛永18‐19)の凶作による江戸時代最初の大飢饉。1630年代を通じて慢性的な農民の疲弊，それによる農地の荒廃現象がみられたが，37年に起こった島原の乱は，九州を中心とした大量の兵粮と軍役の徴発･動員により，農村の疲弊状況をさらに深刻化させた。40年には，西日本を中心として全国的に牛疫病が流行し，九州では大量の牛死が発生して，農耕に甚大な影響を与えた。翌41年には，西日本では干ばつに見舞われ，さらには虫害の被害をうけ，北陸･関東･東北地方では長雨と冷気による冷害に襲われ，全国的な大凶作となった。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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