Poor harvest - kyousaku

This refers to a severe crop failure, including grains, resulting in a failure to harvest or a drastic reduction in yield. Poor rice harvests have caused great social and political unrest since ancient times, resulting in many casualties. Poor harvests are caused by meteorological or man-made disasters. All past poor harvests in the Tohoku region were caused by cold damage, which is brought about by cold winds called "yamase" that blow in from the sea along the Pacific coast. The low temperatures slow the growth of rice, causing ears to appear in the fall, and winter comes before the rice has ripened. In addition, the rice is most sensitive to the formation of ears, and the flowers are sometimes damaged and unable to ripen. Other grains such as millet and soybeans are also susceptible to cold damage, and vegetables and fruit trees also grow poorly, so the damage from poor harvests is widespread. The main causes of poor harvests in western Japan are drought and wind and flood damage. Drought damage around the time of rice planting and around the time of ears of rice causes particularly great damage to rice. In recent years, drought damage to rice has decreased due to improvements in civil engineering irrigation projects and cultivation methods. However, field crops and fruit trees are often affected by drought damage. Wind and flood damage is particularly caused by typhoons, and damage to rice during the heading stage is particularly severe. Early cultivation, which allows rice to head before the typhoon strikes, has become widespread, reducing damage.

In the past, when there was a poor harvest, people stave off hunger by eating wild plants and animals due to food shortages, and even ate poisonous things that are not normally eaten, such as red spider lily bulbs and cycad fruits, after removing the poison. However, there have been some major famines in history where tens of thousands of people starved to death, resulting in tragic situations. As a result, crops were grown to prepare for poor harvests. These are called famine crops. Famine crops were chosen as substitutes for staple foods, were resistant to weather disasters, and were easy to grow. Typical examples include barnyard millet and sweet potato.

[Hoshikawa Kiyochika]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

穀物をはじめ作物が著しく不作で収穫できなかったり、収量が極端に減ることをいう。なかでも米の凶作は昔から大きな社会的政治的動揺を引き起こし、多くの犠牲者を出した。凶作は気象的あるいは人為的な災害によっておこる。東北地方での過去の大凶作の原因はすべて冷害によるもので、太平洋沿岸地方で海から吹き込む冷たい風「やませ」によってもたらされる。低温のためイネの生育が遅れ、出穂は秋になり、実らないうちに冬を迎える。また、穂が形成されるイネのもっとも敏感な時期に低温にあい、花が障害を受けて稔実(ねんじつ)できないこともある。イネ以外の穀物ではキビやダイズなどが冷害を受けやすく、野菜や果樹も生育が悪く、凶作の被害は広範囲に及ぶ。西日本での凶作の原因のおもなものは干害（干魃(かんばつ)）と風水害である。田植前後や出穂前後の干害はとくにイネの被害を大きくする。最近では土木水利事業や栽培法の改良により、水稲の干害による大被害は減少した。しかし、畑作物や果樹ではしばしば干害を受けている。風水害はとくに台風によっておこり、なかでもイネの出穂期の被害は大きい。現在では台風の襲来時期より前に出穂させる早期栽培が普及して、被害を軽減させている。

　昔は、凶作時には食糧不足から野生の動植物などを食べて飢えをしのいだが、ヒガンバナの鱗茎(りんけい)とかソテツの実など、普段は食用としない有毒なものまでも毒抜きをして食べた。しかし、歴史に残っている大凶作では何万という餓死者が出て悲惨な事態となった。そこで凶作に備えた作物も栽培された。これを救荒作物という。救荒作物は主食の代用となり、気象災害に強く、栽培に手のかからない作物が選ばれた。代表的なものにヒエ、サツマイモなどがある。

［星川清親］

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