Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
bales to Edo. In four or five years he acquired great wealth, and became one of the
most notable cotton-dealers in his province.
The authorities would doubtless have approved highly of Kusuke, exemplifying as he
did thrift and continuous activity by the farming community, but their characteristically
contemptuous attitude to the major section of the population, on whom, after all, they
depended directly for their whole livelihood, is expressed very clearly in some extracts
(which are quoted by G. Sansom in his
A History of Japan, 1615-1867
, London, 1964) of
an ordinance that was issued to villages in 1649:
Farm work must be done with the greatest diligence. Planting must be neat, all
weeds must be removed, and on the borders of both wet and dry fields beans or
similar foodstuffs are to be grown, however small the space.
Peasants must rise early and cut grass before cultivating the fields. In the even-
ing they are to make straw rope and straw bags, all such work to be done with great
care.
They must not buy tea or
sake
to drink, nor must their wives.
Men must plant bamboo or trees round the farmhouse and must use the fallen
leaves for fuel so as to save expense.
Peasants are people without sense or forethought. Therefore they must not give
rice to their wives and children at harvest time, but must save food for the future.
They should eat millet, vegetables, and other coarse food instead of rice. Even the
fallen leaves of plants should be saved as food against famine....During the season
ofplanting andharvesting, when the labor is arduous, the foodtaken may bealittle
better than usual.
Thehusbandmustworkinthefields,thewifemustworkattheloom.Bothmust
donightwork.Howevergood-lookingawifemaybe,ifsheneglects herhousehold
duties by drinking tea or sightseeing or rambling on the hillsides, she must be di-
vorced.
Peasants must wear only cotton or hemp—no silk. They may not smoke to-
bacco.Itisharmfultohealth,ittakesuptime,andcostsmoney.Italsocreatesarisk
of fire.
Thecottonandhempgarmentswornbythefarmersvariedfromregiontoregion,andto
someextentwiththeaffluenceofthewearer,butconsiderablegeneralizationscanbemade.
Thefull-length
kimono
wasoccasionallywornbybothsexes,especiallyinanymomentsof
relaxation astheyhad,suchastakingpartinsomelocalceremony.Thewomenmightwear
it in the house during the winter months, when there was little work to do outside, or the
