TY  - CHAP
AB  - Purpose This paper seeks: (1) to understand householding as an economic survival strategy by viewing new, historical, evidence in light of previous work on the theme, (2) to fill gaps in the historical and anthropological literature on prewar Japanese farming villages that have resulted in an incomplete conceptualization of the household as a unit of production and consumption, and (3) to improve the overall comprehension of peasant behavior vis-à-vis questions about moral economy, ecological adaptation, and risk-taking.Design/methodology/approach The essay relies on information gleaned from a detailed 1935–1936 one-year diary of a small-scale farmer, published in 1938.Findings The prewar Japanese farming village was far more than a collection of households linked by sharing and reciprocal ties. It was not only a place where households as economic units of production and consumption were central, but one where individuals strived to obtain whatever they could, whenever they could. It appears that small-scale prewar Japanese farmers were as likely to take risks and to experiment in order to improve their lot as any other peasants around the world.Originality/value It adds to the understanding of prewar Japanese farming villages by presenting valuable historical data that has previously been unavailable in English. It also helps to better situate Japanese peasants in the context of global peasant culture and society, and improves understanding of developmental processes – especially in the case of 20th century Japan.
VL  - 34
SN  - 978-1-78441-055-1, 978-1-78441-056-8/0190-1281
DO  - 10.1108/S0190-128120140000034008
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1108/S0190-128120140000034008
AU  - Wood Donald C.
PY  - 2014
Y1  - 2014/01/01
TI  - Trial and Error, Study and Sweat: Yoshida Saburō’s Smallholding in Northeastern Japan, 1935
T2  - Production, Consumption, Business and the Economy: Structural Ideals and Moral Realities
T3  - Research in Economic Anthropology
PB  - Emerald Group Publishing Limited
SP  - 235
EP  - 266
Y2  - 2024/04/23
ER  -