Collaborative Research
B. Occupation, Technology, and Magical Faiths in Medieval and Early Modern Japan
| Type of Research | Scientific Research |
|---|---|
| Project Title | Historical Research on Livelihoods / Authority and Systems of Knowledge |
| Supervising Head of the Research Team | HIROSE Kazuo |
| Research Title | B. Occupation, Technology, and Magical Faiths in Medieval and Early Modern Japan |
| Head of the Research Team | HIROSE Kazuo |
| Research Period | 2005–2007 |
| Research Team |
|
| Purpose | In pre-modern society, the common people developed a variety of Seigyo activities to enable them to survive famines, plagues, wars, and periods of low productivity; the entire society, including both those in power and the common people, was deemed to possess an intellectual system by which to survive. This pre-modern intellectual system is considered to be one in which a rich store of scientific geographical knowledge on astronomy and nature, as well as technological knowledge to use them, medical knowledge on the human body and resilience, etc., were inextricably linked with magic, faiths, religious rituals, etc. It is the aim of the present research to understand anew and in its entirety the intellectual system in pre-modern society in which Seigyo activities, technologies, and magic/faiths were not differentiated from each other. |
2007
Progress
| Branch B's Workshop |
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Schedule: June 1 (Fri.), 2007 Presenters:
[The 1st-Day Report and Content of the Discussion] This report clearly shows, if we consider the popular religion as the popular system of knowledge, that local faiths and magic had been inextricably related to technologies and tools necessary for Seigyo; and with the variation in Seigyo and technologies, popular religion had become distinguished, a point the group found quite interesting. Points of contention in the discussion session included whether too little attention is paid to collections of Saimon (= Norito: a ritual prayer offered to a Shinto god) as research material in historical science; whether pre-modern popular religion was systematized in modern Japan; and whether the reigning theory that as we go back in time, the level of magical thinking is higher is mistaken, because of the observation that the custom of saying prayers for curing the sick originated in modern Japan. The group discussed the separate roles for and the habitat segregation of a Tayu of "Izanagi-ryu" and an ordinary Shinto priest and the existence of spatial recognition of "mountains, fields, and plains" as seen in the segments of recognition, such as "1st mountain entrance," meaning lower slopes, "2nd mountain entrance," meaning mountain shrine, and "3rd mountain entrance" meaning the heart of the mountain outside of the livelihood sphere. HISHINUMA Kazunori said in his report that the relationship between "Seigyo and Magics and Faiths" in the watershed areas of Monobe River and the "restoration of lagoon traffic and locations of power" existing in pre-modern society in the interior of Tosa Bay should be an issue of the group's field survey. Seeing that the research on the history of exchanges on the west coast of Ise Bay was moving forward, NAKAJIMA Takeharu proposed in the course of reporting the result of his preliminary survey that the first issue of the research should be an investigation of historical phenomena worthy of notice from the viewpoint of Ise Bay being the "Inland World" by means of looking at the exchanges between Chita Peninsula and Atsumi Peninsula and the west coast of Ise Bay. |
Field-Survey Workshop Ⅲ |
Schedule: July 28 (Sat.), 2007 Field Survey Presenters:
Schedule: July 29 (Sun.), 2007 Field Survey of lagoons of Ominato, and Governor's residence and Tamura Presenters:
Schedule: July 30 (Mon.), 2007 Field Survey of Urado Bay and Gyukoan and Godaisan Chikurinji Temple Presenters:
[Local Perambulation, Reporting, and Summary of Discussion］ The group made a field trip to Yamada Dam, a major arterial waterway (designed by Kaneyama Nonaka) for irrigation of paddy fields in Kochi Plain, thereby observing that the site corresponds to the terminal of Monobe River for floating lumber rafts; as the floating of lumber rafts had been the cause of the destruction of the system for intake of agricultural water, there had occurred conflicts between mountain people and agricultural people, which had led to transportation of lumber by horse and locomotive from Yamada Dam. From the field survey of the estuary area of Monobe River and YOSHINARI Shozo's report, it was found that the excavation survey prior to the construction of the Kochi Airport showed that there had been many lagoons and lower swampy zones, large and small, behind the sandy shoals and sandbanks in Tosa Bay, which had been directly connected to the water transportation system in Urado Bay in the ancient and medieval periods. ICHIMURA Takao reported that the area ranging from the estuary of Monobe River to the water transportation system by the use of lagoons and lower swampy zones in Urado Bay had previously had political, economical, and social functions of central importance as Kokufu (Kokushi's headquarters), Ichinomiya (1st shrine), Shugosho (provincial governor's headquarters), Minato (harbor), Tsu (berth), Ichi (market), etc. in the ancient and medieval periods. During the discussion session, the group agreed that it was impossible to consider historical environments in ancient and medieval Japan based on the present topographic features and natural environment; it is necessary to conduct restorative research to analyze the variation of the natural environment by using excavation surveys in historical periods and analytic methods of natural science. |
| Field-Survey Workshop |
Schedule: September 8 (Sat.), 2007 Inspection of the displayed materials at the Tokoname City Folklore Museum Presenters:
Schedule: September 9 (Sun.), 2007 Tokoname City Folklore Museum Presenters:
*Field Survey: Crossing of Ise Bay and perambulation of Anozu demesne region Schedule: September 10(Mon.), 2007 Crossing of Ise Bay; landform restoration of Anozu and Fuji Lagoon; inspection of Mandokoronoso Site (governmental storage site) and the excavation site of Akasaka wooden-structure remains; and field survey of Sonenosho demesne ［Local Perambulation, Reporting, and Summary of Discussion］ NAKANO Haruhisa reported on the variation of the distribution zone of Tokoname and Atsumi ware and regional peculiarities such as demesne and mountain castles. During the discussion session after the reporting, we discussed place names in old records; the matter of indentured servants and local comparative determination; the late 13th century unification of the Yamajawan (mountain bowl), the Katakuchibachi (pot with a lipped edge), the urn, and the narrow-mouthed jar of Tokoname ware into the urn in production; and people engaged in Seigyo. On the second day, in his report, ITO Hirohito clarified the historical transition of ancient and medieval Japan by restoring the historical environment of "Fuji Lagoon" formed in the estuary of Kumozu River and pointed out that there can be a political center at a certain region and people engaged in various lines of business, having multiple functions in that same area. IHARA Kesao hypothesized that though environments of lagoons and lower swampy zones had been developed in sandy coastal areas around the estuaries of middle- and small-sized rivers in ancient and medieval Japan, enabling simultaneous coexistence of a variety of Seigyo, the appearance of sandbanks and sediment deposition on sandy shoals and projects of developing dry fields and paddy fields had resulted in a transition from a society in which various specialty goods had been produced to one in which rice was exchanged for money, that is, a society dedicated to the unified Seigyo of paddy-field rice cropping during the period from the late medieval period till the early Edo period. During the discussion session, the group remarked on the differences between "Kazaribune" (decorated ship), "Komawarisen" (ship with a small turning circle), "Kanto Sea-Crossing Ship," and "Ofuna" (large ship) seen in historical materials in the South-North Government period and the Muromachi period; the actual status of the trilateral traffic among the three provinces of Ise, Chita in Owari no Kuni, and Atsumi in Mikawa no Kuni; the maritime transportation in Northern Ise and the traffic relations between Ise and Kanto and Seto Inland Sea. A field survey of the Anozu demesne region, Sonenosho demesne, and Kotsukurinosho demesne and inspection of the excavation site of Akasaka wooden-structure remains gave an occasion for discussion and information exchange, making the group's research activities significant and useful. |
| Final Workshop |
Schedule: January 13 (Sun.), 2008 ［Research Report］ During the discussion session, the group discussed the problems of scarcity of newly-minted coins and Eda-sen (branched Mon coins); the relationship between earth's prodigality, economic power, and royal authority's magical power; how magical power had come to be broadly recognized in the times when coins had possessed only their own metal values but not a credit value; the relationship between dominion over land and mountains and the domination of minerals such as gold, silver, and copper. ［General Discussion］ |
Result
(1) Exchange and Publicity of Cooperative Research
The group issued newsletters from Vol. 1 to Vol. 10 for the purpose of conducting exchanges and sharing information with researchers dispersed across the universities and organizations all across, Japan by scheduling research activities, summarization of reports, and activation of discussions. Further, the group was able to publicize newsletters in the column on "Research Activities" on the website of the National Museum of Japanese History, thus contributing to the sharing of the latest research information.
(2) Historical transition of natural environment and diversity of Seigyo
It was made clear from the excavation field surveys in Niigata, Kagoshima, Kochi, Aichi, and Mie prefectures and the report on the restoration of natural landscape that the natural environment in the Japanese archipelago could not be supposed to have remained unchanged from the primitive and ancient periods onward; lagoons and lower swampy zones near the estuaries of rivers had been broadly distributed in ancient and medieval Japan; in particular, the modern landscape of plain field areas, sand hills, and natural environment near the estuaries of rivers had been formed by the action of nature itself and that of humans, such as reclamation by drainage, and had undergone changes throughout all the historic periods; lagoons, lakes, and lower swampy zones had been broadly distributed in pre-modern Japan; there had been significant differences between modern coast lines and pre-modern ones in the Japanese archipelago; it was necessary to concretely clarify the historical transition of the relationship between nature and society as an issue of historical science.
Second, it was pointed out that lagoons and lower swampy zones near the estuaries of rivers in Pre-Modern Japan had suffered from various disasters, such as floods, in their long histories; it took a long time for paddy-field rice cropping to be developed, or varieties of Seigyo such as hunting, fish catching, and food gathering; there had been a historical environment in which transportation and distribution functions such as Minato and Tsu, and ferry, bridge, Ichi, and Inn had been developed as junctions between overland transportation and maritime transportation; and there had been historical phenomena by which temples and shrines had taken advantage of their development engineering for rerouting of rivers, and construction of levees and irrigation facilities to act on nature. As the rich waterside environment had been affected by sediment deposition and disasters, the local society's demand for a reclamation by drainage had increased, leading to development of new fields, that is, plainization in early modern and modern Japan; it was, therefore, commonly understood that to elucidate historical transition of natural environment and diversity of Seigyo would be the group's future research task.
Third, as regards historical change of natural environment and diversity of Seigyo, exchanges of views between researchers in the field of archaeology and those in the field of philological historical science and a study of the results of folkloristics made it possible for all members of the group to gain a common understanding, which could be said to be the achievement of interdisciplinary research. However, the group could not fully compare the results of Japanese early modern history and modern history and the result of folkloristics and utilize the power of collaboration as suited for each field of research; this would be an issue for future cooperative research.
(3)Wisdom in the preliterate world and popular wisdom
First, it was proposed that as the system of knowledge possessed by people living in the preliterate world in ancient and medieval Japan had been formed around the nucleus of technology and knowledge developed in Seigyo, a methodology of research on the system of knowledge, such as attention to traditionally-handed-down terms on Seigyo, custom knowledge, life knowledge, and folk knowledge, should be sought.
Second, the system of knowledge had been formed as popular wisdom over the period from the middle until the end of Edo period, part of which was indited for storage and transmission. It was commonly recognized by the researchers that popular wisdom in early modern Japan was the culmination of the system of knowledge possessed by people in pre modern Japan. It was once again pointed out that in the group's relatively long-term cooperative research into historical events, collaboration of researchers in the field of early modern history and those in the field of modern history was of great importance.
Third, it was pointed out that the notion put forth by Max Weber that architecture, craftwork, art, and development engineering are demagicalized with the advancement of modern technology could be questioned, and though rational knowledge had been expanded with the progress of the times, the magical world had never ceased to exist; the bilateral character of technology and magic could be seen in each time period. In other words, the group came to commonly recognize as an issue the question of how to elucidate the bilateral character and inseparable oneness of technology and religion and magic. However, the group is not presently able to make arrangements for studying, raising questions on, and discussion of technology and magic to analyze local societies corresponding to our field surveys, which is an issue for its future research activities.
Fourth, it was pointed out that Buddhism, Shintoism and popular faiths had been not only technology and religious salvation to expel disasters and welcome happiness for Seigyo and survival in pre-modern daily lives, but also the social powers functioning as religious violence; therefore, the continual analysis and elucidation of the relationship between magic and religion was proposed as a requirement. However, in this field as well, the group was not able to specifically raise issues by analyzing and elucidating the mutual relationship between Seigyo and technology and magic faiths on the basis of the members' local field research.
In interdisciplinary cooperative research with philological historical science, archaeology, folkloristics, history of technology, and history of art for each of the time periods, it would be necessary to organically combine analyses of individual research and raise issues according to field research.
2006
Progress
| Branch Workshop |
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Schedule: June 4 Presenters:
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Branch Workshop |
Schedule: August 2–4 Venue: Minami-Satsuma City, Kagoshima Pref. Presenters:
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| The 6th Workshop |
Schedule: January 7–8, 2007 The 1st-Day Presenters:
The 2nd-Day Presenters:
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Result
Last year, the group moved ahead with its research, focusing on the "popular wisdom" in the Edo period and the last days of the Tokugawa Shogunate as the culmination of popular wisdom. As regards "Seigyo and Technology," further research was made using diversified categories of land and semi-domestication, diversity of Seigyo in the periphery of the lower swampy zone, such as in lagoons and bays, experiential knowledge, and implicit knowledge on navigation and fishing ground, and their literation. The theme of "Technology and Magical faiths" was left pending as an issue for this year.
［Technology and Magic(1)］
FUJII reported that in medieval Japan, Buddhist temples and shrines had understood architectural engineering from temple carpenters and handed it down as a technological unit, for which detailed drawings had appeared in the early 15th century. AOYAMA pointed out in his report that Matsuo shrine had open-cut irrigation channels going through its precinct according the variation of the river course, resulting in regional development and reorganization of the service water system.
During the discussion session, the group considered the point that in Medieval Japan, the system of knowledge had been formed and transmission and accumulation of knowledge had been conducted with Buddhist temples and shrines functioning as junctions and that architectural engineering and development engineering had been employed together with magic as a set. The group further discussed the point that oral transmission of traditions and accumulation of knowledge had been conducted with respect to architectural engineering and water facility development engineering in medieval Japan, with Buddhist temples and shrines functioning as junctions, and architectural engineering and development engineering had been employed together with magic as a set in which there had been included technology more advanced than the modern ones and certain lost technologies. The limitation of the theory of demagicalization advocated by Max Weber was made clear.
［Religion and Magic］
OKADA reported that Shinto priests had regarded initiation into ceremonial manners as greatly significant. Further, in Ancient Japan, the Urabe clan in Iki Island, Tsushima Island, and Izu and Boso had used the technique and expertise of tortoise-shell divination for the Emperor and the imperial court; in the Ritsuryo period of Nara, Onmyo-hakase (esoteric Japanese cosmologist) and Tenmon-hakase (chief court astronomer) had been responsible for judgment on curses, purification ceremonies, and offerings to gods; and systematization of ceremonial manners by the Urabe (Yoshida) clan had been carried out in Yoshida Kanetomo's time, with many Buddhist teachings in Shingon and Tendai sects introduced into Shinto.
TAIRA reported that rationalism and magical thinking had coexisted in Japanese Buddhism and both violence by armed forces and violence by religion (= magical thinking of violence) in medieval Japan had to be considered at the same time; and it seemed that only in Modern Japan had religious violence been no longer perpetrated by the state.
During the discussion session, after a report that the ceremonies of Japanese Shintoism had been influenced and formed by the doctrines of Japanese Buddhism, the group discussed the matter as relevant to the shipbuilding ceremony and the roof-raising ceremony in carpentry, and popular festa and Seigyo; and whether or not the magical thinking of violence had been eliminated from the minds of people and private worlds in early modern Japan and religious violence had been revived in modern Japan.
［Technology and Magic (2)］
NAGASHIMA reported that lacquer technology in the Jomon period had culminated in multilayer coating and "Kuromeru" technology for color tone management, but lacquer technology in the Yayoi period had lost the "Kuromeru" technology—a refinement and processing technology—and had new technologies introduced from China and Korea. Although lacquer finishing on earthenware had originated in the Kofun period, the progress of lacquer technology had been interrupted in Ancient Japan, and concomitant use of persimmon tannin and Japanese lacquer in medieval Japan had enabled widespread use of lacquer ware of poor quality but reasonably priced.
ITO criticized AKAMATSU Toshihide's proposition that development of Nisee (Likeness pictures) in the Kamakura period was caused by the development of the concept of demagicalization. According to ITO, it seemed that people in the Heian period had taken portraits as images of flesh-and-blood persons, far from the concepts of dolls being substitutes for physical substances and the similarity of outline drawings to substances. It was not that imagism had not been independently developed, but the recognition that likeness portrait pictures similar to substances had been introduced into Japan from China.
During the discussion session, the group focused on the matters of continuity and discontinuation of technology, advancement and regression of technology, anti-technological innovation from the continent, Max Weber's theory of demagicalization in relation to Nisee, interpretations on the relation of dolls and magical purification rituals, and the theory of applicability of Gombrich's theory to Japan.
In the group's discussions this year, (1) the modern progressive view of history that regards contemporary technology produced by modernization as the highest level of attainment was critically attacked from the viewpoint that progression and regression of technology is relative, considering the evidence of temple building, lacquer technology, and development of engineering; (2) Max Weber's theory that demagicalization proceeds with modernization was criticized from the viewpoint of the theory of art in relation to likeness pictures. The group found that how to relatively review the relationship between technology and magic as coexisting was the issue to be considered. The group is looking forward to the future development of the discussion of these items.
［Natural Environment and Seigyo］
Under the common theme the group succeeded to from last year, with respect to the relationship between "Change of Natural Environment and Seigyo" and "Seigyo and Technology," the group has set up a field survey in Kagoshima Pref. to review the relationship between the physiographic change of the bay and foreign trade. YANAGIHARA (Tohoku Univ.) reported that in medieval Japan, the area around the estuary of Mannose River had been developed not as lagoons but as a lower swampy zone, leading to variation in the landscape and Seigyo. KURIBAYASHI (Kagoshima Prefectural Archaeological Center) reported that with regard to the site cluster in the downstream area of Mannose River, there are a variety of elements, including its relation to foreign trade and accumulation grounds, which are to be considered with much care. MIYASHITA (Kagoshima Municipal Board of Education) pointed out in his report that excavated ceramic ware showed that the area had had trade exchanges with China, Ryukyu, Kinai district, and Tokai. MORI (Kagoshima Univ.) reported that the location of the site allowed for the supposition that Fukiagehama Sand Dune, which had been formed in the Jomon period, had changed into shallow waters and a lower swampy zone in ancient and medieval periods.
From field surveys and reports, it was clear that lower swampy zones formed around the estuaries of rivers by natural levees in the Jomon period had been developed as ports of call for trading vessels and distribution and trading points, bringing about the diversity of Seigyo in the Nara, Heian and medieval periods; therefore, there had appeared in ancient and medieval Japan a recognition of special regions such as Ata-Hayato and Beppu. As it was clearly pointed out that the natural environment and the diversity of Seigyo were closely associated with regional peculiarities, the group was able to recognize commonalities and differences with reference to the results of last year's field research on Niigata (lit. new lagoon).
［General Overview and Issues］
After having had a number of preparatory meetings through collective effort inside and outside the cooperative research committee, the group was able to hold forums at the National Museum of Japanese History, where we discussed the communization of the concept of Seigyo and received opinions from general participants. The importance of creating popular history by mutually exchanging and sharing methodologies and concepts of historical science for its detailed elucidation through cooperative research by historical science, archaeology, and folkloristics seemed to have been commonly understood. Based on the interim report of cooperative research made by Branches A and B, this phase of the project was found to be successful.
As regards the administrative performance of the cooperative research project, though the number of cooperative researchers participating in workshops decreased a little in the first half of the year, many researchers participated enthusiastically in discussions in the latter half because of the deliberate organization of research reports. Heads of the research teams put together all the results and issues from each workshop to make proposals, which were covered in the newsletters continually published for communization by all the people concerned; this year, the contents of newsletters were published as a column on this Cooperative Research on the website of the National Museum of Japanese History, to be updated as needed. This active commitment to transmission of information should be highly appreciated.
As an Interim Report on the cooperative research carried out by Branches A and B, forums of the National Museum of Japanese History were organized, where initially-planned communization of methodologies and concepts for analysis in cooperative research was realized. If a collection of reports are published next year, it follows that the Interim Report will have been substantially completed during the period of the group's cooperative research operation.
2005
Progress
| The 1st Workshop (Cooperative Workshop) |
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Schedule: June 4–5, 2005 Venue: National Museum of Japanese History Presenters:
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The 2nd Workshop/Field Survey |
Schedule: August 7–9, 2005 Venue: Niigata City, Shibata City, and Murakami City, Niigata Pref. Presenters:
*The researchers conducted a survey of the landscapes of the former Shiunji lagoon, the former Fukushima lagoon, the former Iwafune lagoon, and surrounding areas, and remains and relics from these locations. |
| The 3rd Workshop |
Schedule: January 8–9, 2006 Venue: National Museum of Japanese History Presenters:
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Result
1．The 1st Workshop
During the 1st Workshop, unexpectedly heated discussions developed and issues of significance were brought up in respect to topics like "Positive and Negative Sides of Modernity," "Relationship between the Theory of Seigyo and the Theory of Division of Labor," "Conceptual Differences between Seigyo and Seigyo," and "Necessity and Universality of the Concept of Seigyo."
2．The 2nd Workshop and Field Survey in Niigata (August 7–9)
［Setting of the Issues］
(1) The group had established the following issues as those of the present research: how landscapes had changed by the formations of lagoons, sedimentations, and reclamation by drainage; how popular wisdom and systems of knowledge had changed with changes in local technologies and magic and faiths caused by varied Seigyo around lagoons.
［Lagoon/River Traffic in the Ancient and Medieval Periods］
TAKAHASHI Kazuki clarified in this report that lagoons formed in around the 9th century enabled the development of an inland water transportation system using during the time period from the ancient to the medieval to the beginning of the early modern period, by which people gained access to the Niigata harbor, starting from the Iwafune lagoon of Agakita through the Shiunji lagoon, by use of lagoons and rivers, not via the sea of Japan, and that there existed a variety of Seigyo such as fishing, hunting, lumbering, and paddy-field rice cropping around lagoons.
［Variation of Local Interests and Promotion of Reclamation by Drainage］
According to KURUSHIMA Hiroshi's report, over the period of the Hoei and Kyoho eras, Kitamae trading-ship transportation via the open sea had become more convenient than inland water transportation, and solving the problems of sediment deposition in Shiunji lagoon and the spoilage of the water was the new demand of the local community. It was reported that through coordination of local advantages and disadvantages, reclamation by drainage of the lagoon had become the common object of the community; the permission from the Shogunate Government of Edo had been obtained and development capital had been collected to go ahead with the development project. In the process of the development, the problem of the loss of fishing rights remained in control and was solved, with new paddy fields being prepared for use and integrated into the territory of the Shogunate Government of Edo.
［New Issues］
When discussing the topic of "Seigyo and Technology and Magical Faiths in Medieval and Early Modern Japan," it will be necessary to consider its relation to the logic that if the common advantages and disadvantages were changed by changes in the society and demands of the times, and local development of infrastructure were realized, even when common people's rights and magic and faiths have significantly changed with a drastic change in occupations, they cause no major social problem in a local society; people there come to accept a new order.
3．The 3rd Workshop: January 8–9
［Setting of the Issues］
First, under the theme of "Agricultural technology in medieval Japan and accumulation of knowledge on geographic names," HATTORI Hideo reported on the issue of how people's accumulation of knowledge can be explored through research into geographical names. (2) YAMAMOTO Takashi was assigned to give a report on the issue of how people in medieval Japan had accumulated knowledge for survival through varied means of agricultural production and Seigyo.
Second, the "Tidemark of popular wisdom in early modern Japan and in the last days of the Tokugawa Shogunate" was agreed on as the theme of the group's cooperative research, in the hope that the interplay of the research on popular wisdom of NAGURA Tetsuzo (from eastern Japan) and that of YOKOTA Fuyuhiko (from western Japan) would result in an achievement for cooperative research. To be more exact, (1) NAGURA Tetsuzo reported on what kinds of occupations and systems of knowledge pre-modern people possessed to live independent of the political powers of the Shogunate Government of Edo and Provinces, while (2) YOKOTA Fuyuhiko reported on what kind of popular wisdom people had obtained and how and to what level.
［Implicit popular knowledge and experiential knowledge and their literation］
HATTORI reported that people had experiential knowledge about the shallow waters in the inland sea of Hakata as with regard to fishing grounds, Ajiro (wickerwork fishing net), and salt houses; people had as experiential knowledge of the navigation technology of the captain who had crossed the sea to reach China catching not the eastern wind but a northeaster in one sail to go eastward; and in the Edo period of the early 17th century, people's experiential knowledge and implicit knowledge had been indited and claimed under property rights. During the discussion session, the group considered the relationship between the indited experiential knowledge and unindited experiential knowledge; and, whether Ura (fishing village) had become the claimer or the Kabu (stock) as an aggregate of individual ownerships had become the claimer, when claiming such property rights.
［Popular wisdom for survival without being integrated into the power］
By introducing the anthropological concept of "semi-domestication," YAMAMOTO Takashi put forward in his report the methodology of analyzing swamps and ponds not as the objects or premises of development but as the objects of usufruct. In reference to historical sources of data, he also reported cases in which people had produced water caltrop, lotus, water pepper, salmon, crucian carp, branch, cyprinid fish, etc. by using ponds and swamps and sold them as a means of livelihood, and that there had been community regulations saying "There is no tax levied, but there is a limit to the number of days for harvesting." During the discussion session, the group discussed the actual statuses of implicit knowledge, experiential knowledge, and popular wisdom that people had employed under the usufructuary right for survival and accepted community regulations to live in the world without being integrated under the rule or control of the state, and further the theory of historical documents, saying that such documents are likely to be destroyed.
［Satirical literature as popular wisdom in the revolutionary period］
In renewed reference to the historical fact that satirical literature against the Emperor and the imperial court was intensively created, especially around Edo and various cities such as Kyoto and Osaka, during the period from the Fall of Edo till the Resistance of the Northern Coalition, NAGURA reported that as the historical background of the formation of popular wisdom, there had been the system of distribution of Machibure (statutes officially announced by town magistrates) to townsmen in town and people in rental dwellings, shops, and all corners common people had the power to criticize the authority beyond the framework of "Education of people by the Shogunate Government of Edo." During the discussion session, the group discussed what had been the relationship between the middle class of wealthy farmers and merchants and the revolutionary movement; which of the Shogunate army and the Satuma and Choshu armies had fostered historical consciousness within the minds of people including those of the lower classes; and what had been the actual status of the system of distribution of Machibure.
［Level of Popular Wisdom in Early Modern Japan］
YOKOTA reported that in reference to the library catalog in the possession of a headmen of an agricultural village in Osaka area during the period from the Genroku era to the Kyoho era, people had accumulated almost miscellaneous knowledge in a variety of fields and purchased expensive medical books in response to Yoshimune's policy of disseminating medical books and disseminated the knowledge to agricultural villages; and people had obtained knowledge explained in Chinese books and medical books as rational medical thought, which had contributed to demagicalization of villagers to a certain extent. During the discussion session, the group considered the roles played by headmen, temples, and flamen in villages in the formation of popular wisdom; demagicalization of villagers through medical knowledge; and the continuity of early modern rational medical knowledge and folk medicine.
［New Issues］
In the present reporting and discussion session, new issues have been put forward in consideration of popular wisdom such as implicit knowledge and experiential knowledge before literation; the significance of their literation; literation of such knowledge to claim popular property rights; roles played by the middle class of people, such as headmen, temples, and flamen, in villages in the process of formation of popular wisdom in early modern and modern Japan; community spirit of villagers; and the system of distribution of Machibure. It is true that demagicalization of popular wisdom was found to have been brought about with the help of literation and explanation by means of the study of Chinese, but popular knowledge still had magical thinking left in it. The indication of such duality would provide a new perspective and a methodology.
