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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.

The essay relies on information gleaned from a detailed 1935–1936 one-year diary of a small-scale farmer, published in 1938.

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.

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.

This 30th volume of “Research in Economic Anthropology” (REA) consists of 13 original chapters focusing on various aspects of economic organization and behavior, most of which are based on empirical fieldwork conducted by the respective authors themselves. The volume has three parts. Chapters in Part I focus on development and inequalities – common and important themes in economic anthropology. Part II, in concentrating on market expansion and marketing in general, continues the theme of Part II of Volume 25 in the REA series (Wood, 2007, pp. 4–7). The final section – Part III – consists of three chapters that are concerned with economic activities and group or individual identity. The volume ends with a review by James R. Stanfield of a new book about the continuing relevance of Karl Polanyi's famous 1944 book, The Great Transformation, edited by Chris Hann and Keith Hart.