著者

谷本 雅之

出版者

社会経済史学会

雑誌

社会経済史学 (ISSN:00380113)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.64, no.1, pp.88-114,164, 1998

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The movement to establish modern enterprises in Meiji Japan was found in rural as well as urban areas. This was made financially possible through the willingness of men of property based in rural areas to invest their capital in such risky ventures. The purpose of this paper is to point out that the motivation behind these activities was linked to the existence of "local society". First, about 250 major stockholders in Niigata prefecture were classified into four groups according to the nature of their stockholdings in 1901. This demonstrated that a significant number of men of property had invested their money in the high risk stocks of local enterprises. Next, case studies were made of two local entrepreneur families, the HAMAGUCHI and the SEKIGUCHI. Both families invested the capital accumulated through their family business of soy sauce brewing in new enterprises and businesses in their local area in the 1890s. In parallel with these business activities, they vigorously participated in local social and political activities. These case studies showed us that their investment activities were closely related to their social and political activities. As these activities were so interlocked in the local areas, we conclude that the existence of "local society", which recent historical studies show to have emerged in the latter half of the nineteenth century, encouraged men of property to invest in local enterprises. "Local society as the spur to enterprise investment" is our contribution to the main theme of this symposium.