New rice field development

Japanese: 新田開発 - しんでんかいはつ

In the Edo period, this meant developing wilderness and forests to create new rice fields, fields, and houses. Shinden is the opposite of honden. Honden refers to rice fields, fields, and houses determined by the general land survey in the early Edo period, and anything developed after the general land survey is collectively called shinden. When land is developed by connecting it to land within one's own village and the land area is added to the honden area as shinden land, it is called kirizoe shinden, and development to establish a new village is called muradate shinden.

[Kimura Sou]

Overview

At the end of the 16th century, the amount of cultivated land at the time of the Taiko Land Survey was estimated at about 2 million chobu (approximately 2 million hectares), but by the late 19th century, the beginning of the Meiji era, this had increased to about 4 million chobu. During this time, the kokudaka (rice yield) increased from about 18 million koku to about 32 million koku. The number of villages (villages in the Edo period were about the same size as today's oaza) also increased from an estimated 50,000 in the early Edo period to over 63,500 in 1834 (Tenpo 5). Although these figures are unstable, it is certain that cultivated land, kokudaka, and the number of villages all increased significantly. These increases were mainly due to the development of new fields. The characteristics of new field development differ between the early Edo period and the middle and late Edo periods. In the early period, there was a lot of large-scale rice paddy development, while in the middle and late periods, the development of new fields for field crops was prominent (of course, there was new fields for field crops in the early period as well, and rice paddy development in the later period as well). The overwhelming superiority of rice paddy development in the early period was mainly due to the fact that the limitations of rice paddies in the Middle Ages were overcome by the social conditions of the unification of territories at the end of the Sengoku period, and the subsequent unification of the country under the Shogunate and feudal domain system. The large-scale concentration of labor and the development of technology since the Sengoku period made it possible, albeit incompletely, to prevent the flooding of large rivers and open large-scale irrigation canals, which gradually turned uncultivated land and extensively cultivated rice fields in the plains into stable rice fields. It is well known that the diversion of the Tone River (changing the main Tone River from the Edo River to Choshiguchi) carried out by Ina Tadatsugu in the early Shogunate saved the eastern suburbs of Edo from flooding and allowed large-scale rice fields to appear. Furthermore, there were a great many large irrigation canals built in various places. Large-scale development of paddy fields gradually reached its limit and slowed down around the Genroku period (1688-1704), after which development of farmland began to become more noticeable around the Kyoho period (1716-1736). (The largest example was the full-scale development of Musashino. However, there were also large-scale developments of paddy fields after the Kyoho period, such as the development of Iinuma in Shimousa.) This was related to the feudal lord's intention to increase taxes. As financial difficulties worsened, the feudal lord encouraged the increase in tax on field crops, which had been low compared to paddy fields, and the development of field crops on the plateau.

[Kimura Sou]

policy

If new fields were developed, taxes would increase, so as long as it did not interfere with the development of main fields, feudal lords encouraged this and implemented protective policies. The main measures included lending food and seeds to farmers of new fields, establishing a period (about three years) during which no taxes were collected, known as kwashita-nenki, and lowering taxes even after the kwashita-nenki period had passed. These policies were basically implemented throughout the Edo period, but in the Kyoho period, they became more heavily influenced by strict management. The shogunate encouraged the development of new fields as part of the so-called Kyoho Reforms (1716-1745), but at the same time, in 1726 (Kyoho 11), it issued 32 articles on the survey of new fields, stipulating the development of wasteland, strict land surveys, and reliable collection of taxes. Later, in the Tenmei period (1781-1789), there was a great famine caused by cold weather damage all over the country, many people died of starvation, farmland was devastated, and it became difficult to maintain the old fields, let alone develop new fields. From then on, the policy emphasis was placed on maintaining and restoring the old fields. However, there was always a tendency among farmers to abandon the old fields, which had high taxes, and maintain and develop the new fields, which had low taxes.

[Kimura Sou]

kinds

New land developments are usually classified according to the social character of the person who led them with the permission of the feudal lord, because the state of affairs at the time of establishment often determines the subsequent structure of the village.

(1) New fields developed by local feudal lords At the end of the Sengoku period, powerful farmers, such as samurai, gathered farmers and developed them at their own expense. The leading powerful farmers obtained large vacant lots (land that was not subject to tax) and various privileges. The farmers who moved into the village became regular farmers, but they had a strong sense of servitude to the leaders.

(2) New fields contracted by townspeople: Powerful townspeople paid a contract fee to the feudal lord and developed the land at their own expense. In this case, the peasants who moved into the village became tenant farmers, but their tenant rights were strong. The townspeople collected a combination of annual tax and rent from the peasants.

(3) Daikan Mitate Shinden (New Fields by Daikan): The shogunate's Daikan selected suitable land and developed it. If the Daikan was successful, he received one-tenth of the new land's annual tax. The peasants became hon-byakusho (real farmers).

(4) Han-managed new fields: Developed with investment from the domain. The land was directly controlled by the domain. The farmers were hon-byakusho (main farmers). Similar to the Han-managed new fields was the Hanshichigyo Shinden (new fields owned by feudal lords). In this case, feudal lords developed the new fields and acquired them as their own fiefs.

(5) Village-backed new fields: Each village undertook development as a village. From the mid-19th century onwards, it became common for village-backed new fields to be created. In this case, the peasant farmland in the new fields tended to be divided evenly.

The above are the main types, but there are also cases where the land was acquired by temples and shrines, or where the leader was a member of a consortium (Yoriai shinden).

[Kimura Sou]

The character of the farmer

With the exception of a few leading figures, the peasants who moved to new fields were poor or subordinate peasants from old villages. Therefore, by moving to new fields, they often became full-fledged peasants. Furthermore, for feudal lords, an increase in the number of peasants who moved to new fields directly led to an increase in the number of people from whom taxes were collected, so they encouraged this. In this way, the desire for independence of poor and subordinate peasants coincided with the policies of feudal lords, and the development of new fields resulted in promoting the independence of the original peasants.

[Kimura Sou]

"Development of New Fields by Toshio Kikuchi (1958, Kokin Shoin)" "New Field Villages in the Early Modern Period by Soji Kimura (1964, Yoshikawa Kobunkan)"

[Reference] | New Land Survey

Irrigation works and new rice field development in progress
©Shogakukan ">

Irrigation works and new rice field development in progress

Development of new fields on the Musashino Plateau
©Shogakukan ">

Development of new fields on the Musashino Plateau

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

Japanese:

江戸時代、原野や山林を開発して新たに田、畑、屋敷を造成すること。新田とは本田(ほんでん)に対する語。本田とは、江戸前期の総検地により決定された田、畑、屋敷のことであり、総検地以降開発されたものを新田と総称する。自村内の土地に接続して開発し、その高を新田高として本田高につけ加える場合を切添新田(きりぞえしんでん)といい、新たに一村をたてる開発を村立新田(むらだてしんでん)という。

［木村　礎］

概観

16世紀末、太閤検地(たいこうけんち)段階の耕地は約200万町歩（約200万ヘクタール）と推定されるが、19世紀後半の明治初期には約400万町歩に増大。その間、石高(こくだか)は約1800万石より約3200万石に増加。村（江戸時代の村は現在の大字(おおあざ)程度）の数も江戸初期の五万数千（推定）から、1834年（天保5）の6万3500余に増加した。以上の数字は不安定なものではあるが、耕地、石高、村数ともに著しく増加したことは確実である。これらは主として新田開発による増加である。新田開発は、江戸前期と中・後期とではその特色に差がある。前期には大規模な水田開発が多く、中・後期には畑作新田の開発が目だつ（もちろん、前期にも畑作新田、後期にも水田開発はある）。前期における水田開発の圧倒的優越は、中世における水田限界が、戦国末の領国統一、それを受けた幕藩体制による全国統一という社会的条件によって突破されたことを主因とする。大規模な労働力の集中と戦国以来の技術の発展により、大河川の氾濫(はんらん)抑止、大規模な灌漑用水(かんがいようすい)の開通などが不十分ながらも可能になり、これによって平野部の未墾地や粗放田(そほうでん)が徐々に安定水田化した。幕政初期における伊奈忠次(いなただつぐ)以来の利根川(とねがわ)付替え工事（利根川主流を江戸川筋より銚子口(ちょうしぐち)へ変更）により、江戸東郊の地が氾濫から救われ、大規模な水田が出現したことは有名である。また、各地における大用水路の設定はきわめて多い。大規模な水田開発はしだいに限界に達し、元禄(げんろく)（1688～1704）ごろには緩やかになり、かわって畑の開発が享保(きょうほう)（1716～1736）ころから目だってくる（最大の事例は武蔵野(むさしの)の全面的開発。ただし、享保以降にも下総(しもうさ)飯沼の開発のような大規模な水田開発事例もある）。これは領主の年貢増徴の意図と関係している。領主は財政難の進行に伴い、これまで水田に比して低かった畑作年貢の引上げと台地の畑作開発を奨励したのである。

［木村　礎］

政策

新田が開発されれば年貢が増えるわけだから、本田の妨げにならない限り、領主はこれを奨励し保護政策をとった。そのおもなものは、新田農民に対する食料や種子の貸与、鍬下年季(くわしたねんき)つまり年貢をまったくとらない期間（3年程度）の設定、鍬下年季経過後も年貢を低くする、などである。このような政策は江戸時代の全期を通じて基本的には実施されたが、享保期に入ると厳重な管理という色彩が濃くなってきた。幕府はいわゆる享保の改革（1716～1745）の一環として新田開発を奨励したが、同時に1726年（享保11）新田検地条目32か条を発布し、荒れ地の開発、検地の厳正、年貢の確実な徴収などを規定した。その後天明(てんめい)期（1781～1789）に入ると全国的に冷害による大飢饉(だいききん)があり、餓死者も多く出て、耕地が荒廃し、新田開発どころか本田の維持も容易ではなくなり、以後はむしろ本田の維持、回復に政策上の重点が置かれた。しかし、農民の間には、年貢の高い本田を放棄し、低い新田を維持、開発したがる傾向がつねに存在した。

［木村　礎］

種類

新田開発は、領主の許可を得てそれを主導する人物の社会的性格によって分類されるのが普通。それは、成立時の様相がその後の村落構造を規定することが多いからである。

(1)土豪開発新田　戦国末期には武士であったような有力農民が、農民を集め、自費をもって開発。主導者たる有力農民は広い除地(じょち)（年貢のかからない土地）や各種の特権を獲得。入村農民は本百姓となるが、主導者への隷属性は強い。

(2)町人請負新田　有力町人が領主に請負金を納め自費をもって開発。この場合、入村農民は小作人となるが、その小作権は強い。町人のほうは年貢と小作料をあわせたものを農民からとる。

(3)代官見立新田(だいかんみたてしんでん)　幕府の代官が適地を見立てて開発。これに成功すると代官は新田年貢の10分の1を取得。農民は本百姓となる。

(4)藩営新田　藩が出資して開発。その土地は直轄地。農民は本百姓。藩営新田に似たものに藩士知行新田(はんしちぎょうしんでん)がある。これは藩士が新田を開発し、それを知行地として取得する。

(5)村請新田　一つの村が村として開発を請け負う。中期以降、村請で村立新田をつくることが多くなった。この場合、新田村での農民耕地は均分化される傾向が強い。

　だいたい以上のような種類があるが、このほか寺社請新田や、主導者が寄合(よりあい)世帯（寄合新田）の場合もある。

［木村　礎］

農民の性格

新田出百姓(でびゃくしょう)は、一部の主導者層を除いては、古村における貧窮農民や隷属農民であった。したがって、彼らは新田へ出ることによって一人前の百姓になる場合が多かった。また、領主にとっても新田出百姓の増加は年貢徴収対象の増加に直接つながるので、これを奨励した。このように、貧窮・隷属農民の自立の欲求と、領主の政策とが合致して、新田開発は本百姓の自立を促進する結果を生んだ。

［木村　礎］

『菊地利夫著『新田開発』（1958・古今書院）』▽『木村礎著『近世の新田村』（1964・吉川弘文館）』

[参照項目] | 新田検地

灌漑工事、新田開発の進行

武蔵野台地の新田開発

出典　小学館　日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)について　情報 | 凡例

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