First name - Nago

A term used to refer to lower-class farmers from the Middle Ages to the early modern period. It first appeared at the end of the Kamakura period, and in this case, like the classes called wakimyo hyakusho, wakiju, moudo, and kohyakusho, it referred to weak farmers (called small farmers) below the myoshu class. Unlike myoshu, they were not provided with myoden (rice fields) and instead contracted to cultivate land directly managed by the manor lord (isshikiden and kanden) or part of the myoden, meaning they could not run a stable business and were largely subordinate to the manor lord and myoshu. Their degree of subordination became stronger in the early modern period, and in the Edo period they were called kehou, buntsuke, fudai, hikan, etc. depending on the region. They lived off of land, cultivated land, forests, etc. rented from their masters, and in return were obligated to provide labor when requested by the masters, and were subservient to the masters, even down to their religious affiliation. However, their form of existence varied, ranging from that of domestic slaves to that of small farmers in the Middle Ages. With the development of the rural economy and the struggle for independence of the nago, they were gradually liberated and became full farmers, but in regions where productivity stagnated, the nago system remained until modern times, when it was completely liberated and disappeared with the land reforms following the Second World War.

[Kimura Shigemitsu]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

中世～近世の下層農民の呼称。鎌倉末期に初見し、この場合は脇名(わきみょう)百姓、脇住(わきじゅう)、間人(もうど)、小百姓とよばれる階層と同様に、名主(みょうしゅ)層以下の弱小農民（小百姓層という）をさした。名主のように名田(みょうでん)を給付されることがなく、荘園(しょうえん)領主の直営地（一色田(いっしきでん)・間田(かんでん)）や名田の一部を請作しており、安定的な経営を行えず、荘園領主や名主に隷属する側面が大きい。近世にかけてより隷属度を強め、江戸時代には地方によって家抱(けほう)、分附(ぶんつけ)、譜代(ふだい)、被官(ひかん)などとよばれた。主家より家地、耕地、山林などを借り受けて生活するかわりに、主家の求めに応じて労力を提供する義務があり、宗門に至るまで主家に隷属した。しかし、その存在形態は家内奴隷的なものから中世の小百姓のようなものまで多様であった。農村経済の発展、名子の自立闘争などによってしだいに解放され本百姓化していったが、生産力の停滞した地方では近代まで名子制度が残存し、第二次世界大戦後の農地改革によって完全に解放・消滅した。

［木村茂光］

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