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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 paper focuses on the citizens’ movement for promoting shizensou that has arisen since the early 1990s in Japan. It ascertains the social backgrounds of the movement, which originally began as an attempt to preserve nature, and the proponents’ view of the next world and their views on nature. This analysis includes social factors such as demographic trends toward the nuclear family. Furthermore, based on written newsletter reports on shizensou, this paper will examine views of the next world, and indicate that their views are animistic. Finally, I will argue that present-day shizensou is a revitalization of the custom of scattering of the ashes, which was performed in ancient Japan, but it also involved other new elements.

Saroma Lake is the largest lagoon in Japan, situated at latitude 44°05′07″ and 44°11′58″ north and longitude 143°40′06″ and 143°58′14″ east (Fig. 3.1). It is located in the northeast of Hokkaido along the Okhotsk sea. The size and circumference of the lake area is around 151km² and 91km, respectively. The pear-shaped lagoon is around 25.7km long and around 9.5km wide. The lake has semiclosed estuaries with sea mouths between Okhotsk sea and lake. In the lake, two artificial sea mouths have been excavated, where the water exchange can be maintained. These are around 300 and 50m wide. Approximately 90 percent of the total inflow from the sea to the lake passes through the former mouth, which was opened in 1927. The salinity level in Saroma Lake is almost similar to that of the Okhotsk sea due to the active tidal water exchange through the two mouths. An average water depth in Saroma Lake is 14m, approximately 18m deep at the deepest point. The lake receives fresh water from 13 rivers, particularly two principal streams (i.e., River Saromabetsu and Baro), where a large quantity of freshwater and subsequent sediments and nutrients are supplied into the lake.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze those conditions which determine whether the state will be developmental or predatory.

A theoretical model is developed to analyze those factors influencing state policy towards agriculture. Then the historical experiences of China, Japan, and Sub‐Saharan Africa are used to illustrate the workings of the model.

A necessary condition for growth promoting (poverty reducing) policy reforms, with respect to agriculture, is that a technological backlog must exist in agriculture.

International organizations can play an important role in helping to create the necessary condition for effective reform. Significant investment in regional agricultural research institutions must be made so as to create a technological backlog in agriculture.

Investment in agricultural research has been declining. Thus, the availability of new technology has lessened. This poses an obstacle to rapid growth and poverty reduction. This paper seeks to refocus the attention of policy makers on agriculture.

This paper develops a theory to explain how and when states in developing countries are likely to become developmental. The ideas are illustrated by the experiences of parts of Asia and Sub‐Saharan Africa. These results will be useful to domestic policy makers in developing countries as well as the policy makers in international organizations.

Economists have recently emphasized the role which institutional change plays in the process of economic growth and development. Focusing on the behavior of the state, effective constraints on the ruling elite are seen as a necessary precursor to successful economic growth. However, it is argued in this paper that causality runs the other way. Rapid growth (even with dictatorial regimes) leads to political development and institutional structures which provide a foundation for successful long‐term growth. It will be further argued that the greatest potential for stimulating political development comes as the result of rapid agricultural growth. The institutional constraints arising out of political development create an environment within which the ruling elite become developmental rather than predatory. The cases of English and Japanese industrialization will be used to illustrate these ideas. The relevance of the analyses for today's developing countries is discussed and illustrated with reference to the African experience.