著者

白井 泉

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.84, no.1, pp.71-94, 2018 (Released:2020-05-26)

著者

白井 泉

出版者

Business History Society of Japan

雑誌

経営史学 (ISSN:03869113)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.48, no.1, pp.1_3-1_25, 2013 (Released:2016-03-18)

参考文献数

36

被引用文献数

1

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The Takedate Cooperative is a well-known agricultural cooperative in Japan. This study examines the Takedate Cooperative’s credit activities from 1907 until the 1930s. Established in the backward agricultural areas of northeast Japan, in the Aomori prefecture, this cooperative supported members’ production activities, introduced standardization and trademarking in the apple trade, and created the “Takedate Apple” brand. Since its inception, the cooperative has included purchase, marketing, and production divisions, and in 1914, it introduced a credit division to help its members overcome difficulties in raising money from the financial market after poor rice harvests. An additional aim of Takedate Cooperative was to dominate its member behavior by providing preferential financing terms to frequent users of its production and marketing activities and to members who obeyed to its rules. Before World War I, the cooperative raised finances through individual member deposits, and lent considerable sums of money at low rates to its members for cultivation. This lending practice allowed cooperative members to grow apples as well as rice until the early 1920s. However, in the wake of poor business conditions after World War I and the consequent lower than normal performance of its marketing division, the cooperative was forced to reduce loan amounts and lent money to cover living expenses only. It even urged members to save money. Given the circumstances, the cooperative’s loan rate eventually exceeded that of the Aomori prefecture’s financial market, leading many competent members to withdraw their memberships. However, this action did not result in the stagnation of the cooperative and its surrounding areas. On the contrary, in Takedate village, the core area of the cooperative, peasants could still borrow money and purchase land without pledging security. Thus, 80% of farm households could continue to grow apples, leading to greater affluence in the 1930s.

著者

白井 泉

出版者

日本農業史学会

雑誌

農業史研究 (ISSN:13475614)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.50, pp.47-60, 2016 (Released:2017-02-17)

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In modern era, the northeast Japan was considered a developing area and had relatively low economic and health standards, especially in the 1930s. However, within this area, the Tsugaru region of Aomori Prefecture accounted for the highest apple production in Japan since the 1900s, and seemed to enjoy richness compared to the other regions of the prefecture even in the 1930s. The purpose of this study is to analyze why the peasants of Tsugaru region chose to cultivate apples, how they produced apples alongside rice despite the fact that these goods’ busy harvest season come at the same time, and what impact their faming management had on their living standards over time. The analysis reveals the following. (1) In Tsugaru region, peasants began to introduce the cultivation of apples from the 1900s, but this was done as a workaround; for these peasants, the most attractive crop was rice because it was more profitable than apples in the 1910s and 1920s and peasants could sell, store, and eat it. Some peasants purchased active paddy fields after becoming rich from apple cultivation. (2) Apple growers adopted labor-intensive technologies to make apples red in response to consumer preferences and to thereby increase their revenues. Although part of the labor force during the busy season was attracted from outside the prefecture by the offer of high wages, the labor quantity of peasant men and women increased due to the farming of these multiple crops. (3) There is a possibility that such labor environment raised the infant mortality rate, which is an index of mothers’ and children’s health, but the region experienced rapid economic development and, in the 1930s, a total production value per household that was close to the national average. This means that although the multiple farming of rice and apple increased the labor burden on peasants, it led to the economic development of the region.

著者

白井 泉

出版者

日本農業史学会

雑誌

農業史研究 (ISSN:13475614)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.50, pp.47-60, 2016

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In modern era, the northeast Japan was considered a developing area and had relatively low economicand health standards, especially in the 1930s. However, within this area, the Tsugaru region of AomoriPrefecture accounted for the highest apple production in Japan since the 1900s, and seemed to enjoy richnesscompared to the other regions of the prefecture even in the 1930s. The purpose of this study is to analyze whythe peasants of Tsugaru region chose to cultivate apples, how they produced apples alongside rice despite thefact that these goods' busy harvest season come at the same time, and what impact their faming managementhad on their living standards over time. The analysis reveals the following. (1) In Tsugaru region, peasantsbegan to introduce the cultivation of apples from the 1900s, but this was done as a workaround; for thesepeasants, the most attractive crop was rice because it was more profitable than apples in the 1910s and 1920sand peasants could sell, store, and eat it. Some peasants purchased active paddy fields after becoming richfrom apple cultivation. (2) Apple growers adopted labor-intensive technologies to make apples red in responseto consumer preferences and to thereby increase their revenues. Although part of the labor force during thebusy season was attracted from outside the prefecture by the offer of high wages, the labor quantity of peasantmen and women increased due to the farming of these multiple crops. (3) There is a possibility that such laborenvironment raised the infant mortality rate, which is an index of mothers' and children's health, but the regionexperienced rapid economic development and, in the 1930s, a total production value per household that wasclose to the national average. This means that although the multiple farming of rice and apple increased thelabor burden on peasants, it led to the economic development of the region.