Wealthy farmer - Gounou

Upper class farmers who existed from the end of the Edo period to the early Meiji period. They owned many fields and forests, and while they also acted as landlords who rented out land, they also managed their own land or engaged in the management of small rural industries, and even served as village officials and ward heads, maintaining an important connection to the trends of the local community. The history of wealthy farmers' land ownership was diverse, but especially from the mid-Edo period onwards, against the backdrop of the development of a commodity-based economy, the differentiation of farmers into different classes progressed, and the number of upper class farmers known as wealthy farmers increased. From the end of the Edo period to the early Meiji period, there were wealthy farms all over the country with land sizes of around 5-6 to 10 chobu that relied on hired labor. These indicate the aspect of wealthy farmers as industrial landlords, and they were enthusiastic about the introduction of new seeds and new agricultural tools, and many of them entered businesses such as sericulture and silk reeling. The Tokutomi family of Kumamoto Prefecture, the birthplace of the Tokutomi brothers Soho and Roka, were typical of the industrial promotion-oriented landlords and wealthy farmers of this period. Many wealthy farmers were also involved in the Freedom and People's Rights Movement that reached its peak in the 1870s, as indicated by the term "wealthy farmers' rights." Examples of such people include Muto Koitsu of Gunma Prefecture, Sugita Sadakazu of Fukui Prefecture, and Dokura Shozaburo of Nara Prefecture.

As landowners, they were involved in agricultural production and had ties to local industries such as silk reeling and weaving, and they also had a wealth of experience and aspirations for local people's livelihood. They were very interested in the trends of various taxes, including land tax, and many of them called for the establishment of a people's assembly and a national parliament as a place to reflect their opinions on national politics. Through the civil rights movement, they criticized the clan-based government and demanded the establishment of local autonomy. However, from the late Meiji period, the landlord-based land ownership system was established, and the productive character of wealthy farmers rapidly declined. The advantageous situation of accumulating land and renting it out became common, and the wealthy farming class became detached from the production process and their character as mere land rent earners deepened.

[Isao Denda]

"'Wealthy Farmer' by Isao Denda (Kyoikusha History Paperback)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

江戸末期から明治前期にかけて存在した上層農民。多くの田畑山林を所有し、貸付地主としての側面をもつとともに、地主手作り経営を行い、あるいは農村小工業の経営に従事し、さらに村役人や区戸長などを務めるなど、地域社会の動向に重要な関連を維持していた。豪農の土地所有の経過は多様であるが、とくに江戸時代の中期以降、商品貨幣経済の進展を背景に、農民の階層分化が進行し、豪農とよばれる上層農民が増加することとなった。幕末から明治前期にかけて、雇用労働力に依存する、5～6町歩から10町歩程度の規模をもつ豪農経営が全国各地に存在した。豪農の勧業型地主としての側面を示すものであり、新種苗や新式農具の導入に熱意をもち、養蚕・製糸などの事業に進出する者も多かった。徳富蘇峰(とくとみそほう)・蘆花(ろか)兄弟の生家、熊本県の徳富家など、この時期における勧業型地主・豪農の典型であった。豪農は明治10年代に高揚をみた自由民権運動においても、「豪農民権」の呼称に示されるように、運動に関係する者が多く、群馬県の武藤幸逸(こういつ)、福井県の杉田定一、奈良県の土倉庄三郎(どくらしょうざぶろう)などがその例であった。

　彼らは地主として農業生産にかかわり、製糸業や織物業など地方的工業に関連をもつとともに、地方の民生についても豊富な経験と抱負とをもつ人々であった。地租をはじめとする諸税の動向に強い関心を寄せ、国政について彼らの主張を反映させる場として、民会や国会の開設を要求する者が多かった。民権運動を通じて藩閥政府を批判し、地方自治の確立を要求する姿勢がみいだされる。しかし明治後期より地主的土地所有制度が確立され、豪農の生産力的性格は急速に後退するに至った。土地を集積して小作に付するという有利な状況が一般化され、豪農層は生産過程から遊離し、単なる地代取得者としての性格を深化せしめていくこととなった。

［伝田　功］

『伝田功著『豪農』（教育社歴史新書）』

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