Fishing village - Gyoson

Japanese: 漁村 - ぎょそん

Compared to farming villages and mountain villages, this refers to villages where fishing accounts for a large proportion of the village's industry. Even in areas generally considered to be fishing villages, in reality there may be many people engaged in agriculture or a high proportion of commuters, and fishing may not necessarily be the predominant industry. Therefore, it refers to villages where fishing is carried out to a certain extent. Additionally, while fishing villages typically bring to mind villages with small fishing ports, areas with large fishing ports and what could be considered fishing bases with refrigeration facilities and distribution facilities are also generally called fishing villages.

[Hasumi Otohiko]

Social Structure

Since the feudal era, the sea area off the coast of a village was recognized as a common fishing ground and fishing rights were granted to the village, and the offshore area was designated as a common fishing ground for each village, and many coastal villages engaged in fishing. Fishing villages formed in this way continued to accept their old practices even at the time of the Meiji Restoration, and even after the reform of the fishing system and the organization of fishing cooperatives after World War II, they have maintained their village characteristics without fundamental change. Fishing villages have common fishing rights for the fishing grounds off their coast, and with this as a backdrop, they have maintained their unity as a village unit, and it was not uncommon for a group of fishermen in each village to organize a fishing cooperative as a single association.

Because there are large differences in the types of fishing, it is difficult to simply generalize the structure of fishing village societies, but many villages established fishing regulations to protect the resources of local fishing grounds and forced the village's fishermen to work together to comply with them. Furthermore, since there are many situations in fishing that require the cooperation of a larger number of workers than individual family labor, such as operating boats and nets, close cooperative organizations were formed at the village level. In this way, strong integration of villages was seen in fishing village societies, based on the communal nature of fishing rights and reinforced by the nature of fishing labor.

In fishing villages, it was common for young people of a certain age to stay at youth hostels, learn basic knowledge and skills about fishing work and village life, and build solidarity with their peers of the same age. In some areas, age-based groups organized in this way played important roles in fishing production and village management. For this reason, it has been said that fishing villages have a village order based on an age hierarchy, whereas in rural areas, certain families often held dominant positions in the village based on land ownership and family status.

On the other hand, in the case of offshore fishing using large fishing boats and large-scale nets, a differentiation occurs between those with the capital to manage these fisheries and those who are employed by them to provide labor. Systems such as the amimoto/amiko system and the shipowner/funoko system have been seen in various places since the end of the early modern period. In some areas, these relationships overlap with head family/branch family relationships, or develop into boss/subordinate relationships.

[Hasumi Otohiko]

The collapse of hierarchical order

The development of fishing production had a major impact on the social structure of these fishing villages. Offshore and deep-sea fishing expanded as fishing boats got larger and fishing gear and methods improved dramatically, leading to rapid differentiation of coastal fishing villages. Fishing villages with favorable locations expanded their fishing ports on a large scale and turned into fishing bases, while fishing villages less favorable fell into decline. This also brought about major changes in the class structure within fishing villages. The decline of coastal fishing led to an exodus of young people, and practices such as youth hostels disappeared in many areas. The development of offshore and deep-sea fishing also upset the traditional class order. As a result, the unique social structure of fishing villages of the past has become extremely diluted in today's fishing villages.

Furthermore, during the rapid economic growth, coastal industrial zones were developed, and many fishing grounds were forced to abandon fishing due to land reclamation and other reasons. There was also a dramatic decline in fish catches due to coastal water pollution. As a result, some areas have lost their character as fishing villages, and the proportion of areas serving as fishing bases is currently increasing.

[Hasumi Otohiko]

Regional characteristics

Coastal administrative villages are made up of several settlements, and only a limited number of settlements can be called fishing villages. Coastal fishing villages can be broadly divided into those along rocky coasts (rocky coast fishing villages) and those along sandy coasts (sandy coast fishing villages). Pure fishing villages, where most of the villagers are engaged in fishing, are often found in places with poor land transportation, such as the tips of peninsulas and capes.

The productive activities of fishing villagers are primarily carried out in the sea off the coast of their settlement, and in Japan, most settlements have their own fishing rights, which form the basis of the establishment of fishing villages. There, production activities such as fishing, aquaculture, and processing (manufacturing) are carried out. There are many types of fishing equipment, but nets and hooks are the most important, and these villages are also called net fishing villages or hook fishing villages. Some fishing villages had people who worked as sailors or fish tributes during the feudal period, and some of these villages have been granted privileged practices as a result. Fishing activities often involve collective work, and in some places there is a custom of each villager receiving a share of the catch even if they only helped for a short time. This should be seen as a vestige of the ancient combination of enjoying profits and sharing responsibilities.

Some fishing villages are dedicated to fishing, but in general most are semi-agricultural and semi-fishing villages. Within each household, men and women are assigned to do the work (intra-household division of labor), and this is known as male fishermen and female farmers. Housewives may also be in charge of peddling the catch, which is particularly common in fishing villages near cities. The catch needs to be commercialized before it loses its freshness, so fishing villages have many facilities and businesses such as fish markets, fish merchants, transporters, and processors in addition to fishing ports. Thus, production in fishing villages is directly linked to distribution, and one of the characteristics of fishing villages is that they have little self-sufficiency. Some fishing villagers also travel to other fishing grounds seasonally to work as migrant fishermen, and in some fishing villages, young and middle-aged men go out to fish while women, elderly people, and children look after their homes and villages. The amount of fish caught varies from year to year, fishing activities are often dangerous, and fishing villagers are deeply religious. Another characteristic is that many old customs remain. Fishing villages are urban in this respect, with small residential lots, small, low and densely packed houses.

In recent years, even these fishing villages have been undergoing a transformation. In order to protect fishing resources and stabilize catches, aquaculture has been widely adopted nationwide, and fishing villages are changing from "fishing for harvesting" to "fishing for creating." Elderly people are leaving fishing to run fishing guides and guesthouses, and an increasing number of young and middle-aged people are changing careers to become wage laborers or salaried workers. Along with these transformations, the old customs that had long remained in fishing villages are also being diluted.

[Yukio Asaka]

"Fishing Villages and Village Communities" by Makino Yoshiro (included in Villages, 1970, Kawashima Shoten)" ▽ "Regional Studies of Fishing Villages" by Kakimoto Noriaki (1975, Daimeido)" ▽ "Studies of Modern Fishing Villages" by Kakizaki Kyoichi (1978, Ochanomizu Shobo)" ▽ "The Changing Process of Modern Fishing Villagers" by Otsu Akiichiro and Sakai Shunji (1981, Ochanomizu Shobo)

[References] | Fishing rites | Fishing rights | Common ownership | Village society

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

Japanese:

農村や山村に対して、村落の産業のうちで漁業の占める比重の大きな村落をさす。一般に漁村とみられている地域でも、現実には農業に従事する者が多かったり、通勤者の比重が高い場合もあり、産業の面でかならずしも漁業が卓越していない場合もある。したがって、一定程度以上に漁業の行われている村落をさすということになろう。また、漁村として、典型的には小規模な漁港をもつ村が思い浮かべられるが、規模の大きな漁港があり、冷蔵施設や流通施設などをもつ漁業基地ともいうべき地域も、一般には漁村とよばれる。

［蓮見音彦］

社会構造

藩政期以来、村の地先の海面は村の共同の漁場として漁業権が認められ、沖合いは各村の入会(いりあい)漁業地とされて、沿岸の村の多くが漁業に従事してきた。このようにして形成された漁村では、その後、明治維新に際しても旧来の慣行が認められ、また第二次世界大戦後の漁業制度の改革や漁業協同組合の組織化を通じても、基本的な変革をみることなしに村落の特質を維持してきた。漁業村落が地先の漁場についての総有的な漁業権をもち、それを背景にして、村落を単位としたまとまりを維持してきたのであり、村落ごとに漁民集団がそのまま一つの漁業協同組合を組織する場合も少なくなかったのである。

　漁業の形態に大きな差異があることから、漁村社会の構造には単純に一般化しがたい部分が大きいが、地先の漁場の資源を守るために漁業についての規制を定め、村の漁家がそれを共同して守るように強制することは多くの村でみられた。また、船や網の操作など、漁業においては個々の家族労働力を超えた、より多くの労働力の協力が必要とされる場面が少なくないことから、村落を単位とした緊密な協同組織がつくられることとなった。このように漁業権の共同体的特質を基盤に、漁業労働の特質に補強されて、漁村社会では村落の強い統合がみられた。

　しばしば漁村においては、一定年齢に達した青年が若者宿に合宿し、漁業労働や村落生活についての基礎的な知識や技術を学び、同年齢の仲間の連帯をつくりあげるという慣行がみられた。また、このようにして組織された年齢を基準とする集団が、漁業生産や村落運営にあたって重要な役割を演じる地域もみられた。こうしたことから、土地所有や家格に基づいて特定の家が村落において支配的な地位を占めることの多かった農村に対して、漁村においては年齢階梯(かいてい)制に基づく村落秩序があるといわれてきた。

　一方、沖合いでの大型の漁船による漁業や、大規模な網の場合には、これらの漁業を経営しうる資本を備えた層と、彼らに雇用されて労働力を提供する層との分化が生じる。網元・網子の制度や、船主・船子の制度などが近世末期から各地にみられた。地域によっては、これらの関係が本家・分家関係と重なり合ったり、親分・子分関係に展開する例もみられた。

［蓮見音彦］

崩壊する階層秩序

漁業生産の発展は、これら漁村の社会構造に大きな影響を与えた。漁船の大型化と漁具や漁法の飛躍的発展によって、沖合いや遠洋の漁業が伸び、沿岸漁村は激しく分化してゆく。立地条件に恵まれた漁村では漁港を大規模に拡大して漁業基地へと転進し、そのような条件の乏しい漁村は衰微の道をたどる。これに伴って漁村内部の階層構成にも大きな変化が生じた。沿岸漁業の不振に伴い若年層の流出が進み、若者宿などの慣行を多くの地域で消滅させた。また、沖合いや遠洋での漁業の展開は、旧来の階層秩序を動揺させた。このようにして、今日の漁村では、かつての漁村独特の社会構造の特質はきわめて希薄なものとなってしまっている。

　さらに、経済の高度成長の過程で臨海工業地帯の造成が進み、多くの漁場が埋立てなどで漁業放棄を余儀なくされた。沿岸の水質汚染による漁獲物の減少も甚だしい。その結果、漁村としての性格を失った地域もあり、漁業基地的な地域の比重をいっそう高めている現状にある。

［蓮見音彦］

地域的特色

臨海行政村はいくつもの集落から構成されていて漁村といえる集落は限定され、その数は少なくなる。臨海漁村は、岩浜海岸に沿うもの（岩浜漁村）、砂浜海岸に連なるもの（砂浜漁村）とに大別できる。そして集落民のほとんどが漁業に従事している純漁村というべきものは、半島や岬の突端など、陸上交通の不便な所に多くみられる。

　漁村民の生産活動は、まずその集落の地先海面で行われ、日本ではそのほとんどに集落ごとの地先漁業権が設定され、漁村成立の基盤をなす。そこでは漁労をはじめ、養殖・加工（製造）などの生産活動が展開される。漁労用具は数が多いが、網と鉤(はり)とが第一で、網漁村、鉤漁村の呼び名もある。漁村のなかには、幕藩時代に水夫や魚類貢納などの役(やく)を務めていた所があり、それに伴って特権的慣行が認められてきた所もある。漁労活動には共同作業が少なくなく、わずかの時間しか手伝わなくても村民各戸が漁獲物の分配を受ける習慣のみられる所がある。古くからの利益享受と責任分担の結合の名残(なごり)とみるべきものであろう。

　漁村には漁業専業村もあるが、一般的には半農半漁村が多い。各戸でも男女によって労働が分けられ（家庭内分業）、男漁女耕といわれる。主婦はまた漁獲物の行商を担当している場合があり、都市近郊の漁村にはとくに多くみられる。漁獲物は鮮度の落ちないうちに商品化する必要があり、漁村には、漁港のほか、魚市場、魚商、輸送業者、加工業者などの施設や業者が少なくない。こうして漁村の生産は、流通面に直結していて自給面が少ないのも特色である。漁村民中にはまた季節的に他地方の漁場へ出かけて出稼ぎ漁労に従事する者があり、青・壮年男子は出稼ぎ漁に出かけ、婦人、老人、子供が留守宅や村を守っている漁村もある。漁獲量は年によって豊凶差があり、漁労活動には危険が伴うことが多く、漁村民は信仰心が厚い。旧来の慣行が多く残存しているのも特色である。漁村集落は宅地が狭く、家屋が小型で低く、密集していてこの点では都市的である。

　こうした漁村にも近年変貌(へんぼう)がみられ、漁業資源の保護と漁獲の安定を図るため、養殖が全国的に広く取り入れられ、「採る漁業」から「つくる漁業」へと変わりつつある。老齢者は漁労から離れて遊漁案内と民宿を経営するようになり、青・壮年層には転業して賃労働者やサラリーマンとなる者が増加している。こうした変貌に伴って、漁村に長く残されていた旧慣も薄められつつある。

［浅香幸雄］

『牧野由朗著『漁村と村落共同体』（『村落』所収・1970・川島書店）』▽『柿本典昭著『漁村の地域的研究』（1975・大明堂）』▽『柿崎京一著『近代漁業村落の研究』（1978・御茶の水書房）』▽『大津昭一郎・酒井俊二著『現代漁村民の変貌過程』（1981・御茶の水書房）』

[参照項目] | 漁業儀礼 | 漁業権 | 総有 | 村落社会

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