Middlemen of Modernity: Local Elites and Agricultural Development in Modern Japan

278 Pages·2021·3.317 MB·English

by  Christopher Craig

MIDDLEMEN OF MODERNITY
A Study of the Weatherhead Asian Institute
MIDDLEMEN OF
MODERNITY
Local Elites and Agricultural
Development in Modern Japan
C C
hristopher raig
University of Hawai‘i Press
Honolulu
© 2021 University of Hawai‘i Press
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
26 25 24 23 22 21 6 5 4 3 2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Craig, Christopher (College teacher), author.
Title: Middlemen of modernity : local elites and agricultural development
in modern Japan / Christopher Craig.
Other titles: Studies of the Weatherhead East Asian Institute, Columbia University.
Description: Honolulu : University of Hawai‘i Press, 2021. | Series: Studies of the
Weatherhead East Asian Institute, Columbia University | Includes bibliographical
references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2020055798 | ISBN 9780824886257 (hardcover) | ISBN
9780824889272 (adobe pdf) | ISBN 9780824889289 (epub) | ISBN
9780824889296 (kindle edition)
Subjects: LCSH: Agriculture and state—Japan—Miyagi-ken—History. | Rice farming—
Japan—Miyagi-ken—History. | Elite (Social sciences)—Japan—Miyagi-ken—History. |
Agricultural innovations—Japan—Miyagi-ken—History. | Miyagi-ken (Japan)—
Economic conditions.
Classification: LCC HD2092 .C73 2021 | DDC 338.10952/115—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020055798
Studies of the Weatherhead East Asian Institute, Columbia University
The Studies of the Weatherhead East Asian Institute were inaugurated in 1962 to
bring to a wider public the results of significant new research on modern and
contemporary East Asia.
University of Hawai‘i Press books are printed on acid-free paper and meet the guidelines
for permanence and durability of the Council on Library Resources.
Cover photo: Kamata Sannosuke traveling on foot to a speaking engagement in
Hiroshima. Courtesy of Kamata Sannosuke Tenjishitu, Kamata Kinen Ho¯ru,
O¯sakishi Kyo¯iku Iinkai Kashimadai Shisho.
For Noriko and Cuchulainn

Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction
1
chapter one
Mayor Straw Sandals: Kamata Sannosuke and the Meibo¯ka Ideal
12
chapter two
The World Turned Upside Down: Hydrological Conflict
and the Transformation of Local Leadership
37
chapter three
A Harvest of Knowledge and Ambition:
Ro¯no¯ and the Rise of Agricultural Associations
66
chapter four
Fighting the Farmers for National Wealth:
Landlord Meibo¯ka and the New Agricultural Order
102
viii Contents
chapter five
The Spirit of the Times Has Changed:
A New Vision for Agricultural Development
136
chapter six
Coming Full Circle: The Future History of Miyagi Meibo¯ka
164
Conclusion
213
Notes 223
Bibliography 247
Index 257
Acknowledgments
This work has been made possible by the generous help and support of
the many scholars, teachers, classmates, organizations, and friends who
have aided me in the fifteen years since I began work on the project. While
any errors that may be found within are solely mine, very little else of
what follows would exist if not for these people.
My interest in modern Japanese farming villages and rural society
dates back to my years at the University of British Columbia, where Wil-
liam Wray encouraged my interest in local elites and supervised both my
basic education in Japanese history and my earliest work on the subject in
my master’s thesis. I owe an enormous debt of gratitude also to many at
UBC for the support I enjoyed during my four years at the school. In par-
ticular, I extend my thanks to Tim Brook, Nam-lin Hur, and Steven Lee,
all of whom offered their support in improving and refining my early
scholarly efforts.
The book took on much of its present form during my doctoral studies
at Columbia University, and I benefited immensely from the support of
faculty, staff, and students. I owe thanks first and foremost to Carol Gluck,
who nurtured the project in its infancy and supervised my work at every
stage of its development. Gregory Pflugfelder, David Lurie, and Eugenia
Lean all provided formative advice in the early stages of planning my re-
search. Kim Brandt, Elizabeth Blackmar, and Daniel Botsman all took
active roles in shepherding my dissertation toward completion, and each
of them improved the work with the insight they offered.
During my research in Sendai, Japan from 2009 to 2011, I was fortun-
ate enough to receive assistance from an extraordinary collection of
ix
x Acknowledgments
scholars and students. Okamoto Ko¯ichi got me off to a running start by
connecting me with historians and students in Japan who provided in-
valuable help in my early efforts to negotiate archival collections in Japan
and become familiar with Japanese academia. In Sendai, Adachi Hiroaki
invited me to become an unofficial participant in his modern Japan semi-
nar at To¯hoku University, beginning a pattern of warmth and unrestricted
support that continues to the present day. Teshima Yasunobu gave un-
sparingly of his time, introducing me to a wide range of local resources
and helping me muddle through linguistic difficulties. Finally, I owe spe-
cial thanks to Abiko Rin, whose enormous generosity with his encyclope-
dic knowledge, his decades of experience, and his friendship were pivotal
in the progress of my research.
This work also owes its existence to the numerous organizations that
have provided funding for my research. The graduate scholarship of the
Social Science and Humanities Research Council enabled me to complete
my master’s degree in Vancouver. In New York, the Weatherhead Institute
and the Donald Keene Center of Japanese Culture provided specialized
training and travel grants for preliminary research. Language training
was furnished by the Japan Foundation at the Japanese-Language Insti-
tute, Kansai. Funding for the two years of research upon which this book
is built was provided by means of the Japan Foundation’s Japan Studies
Fellowship and the Shincho¯sha Graduate Fellowship for Study in Japan.
To all of these groups I offer my most sincere thanks.
The Association for Asian Studies, the Weatherhead Initiative on
Global History at Harvard, the World History Association, the Hasekura
League, the Centre for Japanese Research at the University of British Col-
umbia, and Hallym University all provided venues for me to present my
research at various stages of its completion and gave me access to invalu-
able comments and advice from top scholars.
This work has been made possible by the generous assistance of the
staffs at a number of remarkable archives, libraries, and collections. The
librarians at the Asian Library at the University of British Columbia and
the Starr Library at Columbia University provided crucial aid during the
earliest phases of my research. In Japan, I depended heavily upon the help
I received from the employees at the To¯hoku University Library, the Na-
tional Diet Library, the Miyagi Prefectural Library, the Fukushima Prefec-
tural Library, and the National Archives. I owe special thanks to the
wonderfully helpful and exceptionally generous staff at the Miyagi Pre-
fectural Archives, who not only tolerated my weeklong occupations of
their reading area, but also introduced me to source materials I would
never have found on my own.