Tohoku poor harvest

Poor harvests occurred in the Tohoku region in 1934 and 1935 (Showa 9 and 10). Due to unseasonable weather, the national rice yield in 1934 was lower than the poor harvest in 1931. The fall in yields was particularly severe in the Tohoku region, which was hit by cold damage. The yields in the three prefectures of Aomori, Iwate, and Yamagata were only 40-50% of the average for the previous five years. In the following year, 1935, poor harvests caused by cold damage hit the Tohoku region, especially Aomori and Iwate prefectures. This caused the farm economy, which had already been hit hard during the depression, to worsen, and the number of families who were forced to live on nuts and grass roots, girls who sold themselves, and children who went hungry increased sharply. The number of girls who became geisha (geisha), prostitutes, barmaids, and waitresses reached over 16,000 in the six Tohoku prefectures in the one year from the end of 1933. This situation became a major social issue and the subject of debate, and the government responded by implementing emergency civil engineering projects and distributing government-owned rice, and private sector relief efforts were also launched. However, the damage caused by the poor harvest was not easily repaired, and poverty in rural areas became an important political issue thereafter.

[Yokoseki Itaru]

"The History of the Farmers' Union Movement, compiled by the Farmers' Union History Publishing Committee (1960, Nikkan Nogyo Shimbunsha)" ▽ "The Agriculture and Forestry Ministry's Agricultural Times, Volume 7, reprint edition (1981, Ochanomizu Shobo) " ▽ "The Japan Agricultural Annual, Volume 7: Five Years of the Agricultural Depression, reprint edition (1978, Ochanomizu Shobo)" ▽ "The Opening of the 15-Year War, by Eguchi Keiichi (Showa History 4, 1982, Shogakukan)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

1934、35年（昭和9、10）に東北地方で発生した凶作。34年の全国産米実収高は、気候不順のために、31年の凶作時よりも下回った。とくに、冷害にみまわれた東北地方の減収は著しかった。青森、岩手、山形三県の収穫高は、過去5年間の平均値の4～5割にすぎなかった。翌35年にも、冷害による凶作が青森、岩手両県を中心に東北地方を襲った。そのため恐慌時に打撃を受けていた農家経済はさらに悪化し、木の実や草の根を食糧とせざるをえない家庭や、身売りする娘、欠食児童の数が急増した。芸妓(げいぎ)、娼妓(しょうぎ)、酌婦、女給になった娘たちの数は、33年末から1か年の間に、東北六県で1万6000余名に達している。こうした状況は大きな社会問題として論議の的となり、政府は応急土木事業の実施や政府所有米支給によって事態に対処し、民間においても救援運動が展開された。しかし、凶作の痛手は容易に回復せず、農村窮乏問題はこれ以後の重要な政治課題となった。

［横関　至］

『農民組合史刊行会編『農民組合運動史』（1960・日刊農業新聞社）』▽『農林省編『農務時報　第七分冊』復刻版（1981・御茶の水書房）』▽『『日本農業年報　第七輯　農業恐慌五ヶ年』復刻版（1978・御茶の水書房）』▽『江口圭一著『15年戦争の開幕』（『昭和の歴史4』1982・小学館）』

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