Historical Geography of the Local Market Town

Abstract

In general, the region which fits barley or vegetable raising, in comparison with rice paddy distrcts, needs subsidiary work for its people and stimulates commercial activities. Yokaichi (which means Eight Day Market in Japanese letters) in Shiga Prefecture is its good example.At the close of Middle Age, compulsory concentralization of Rakuich and Rakuza (authorized markets which acquired several priviledges by land lord's favour) to the castle town, by Nobunaga Oda, gave fatal blow to the existence of local market, but Yokaichi was its scle exception. The reason was that it stood far from Nobunaga's castle town at Azuchi and there were no other town in the neibourhood of some several miles distaces, and also it was communication center in these districtsAt Tokugawa Era, the Shogunate Government took the divide and rule policy, and here the land was divided among three land lords, of whom Hikone landlord was chief. Even houses in the same town were divided by three lords, so houses under differeut soverenity were situated side by side here. Of course the merchant of town had to pay market-taxes to the three land-lords But only in case of Yokaichi, the merchant had common market tioket and thus they could make their trade smooth. They handled the freshfish and got them from Osaka, Ise and Wakasa. They also exchanged vegetabla here, so there appeared the tendency among near-by villages to produce their own characteristic vegetables. (for instance, water melon, pumpkin, Japanes tomats, melon, and jinger etc.)Ichj. Jin sha (Shrine of market god) of Yokaichi was the guardian deity only of those market merchants, and at appointed date, the shrine issued the special cakes and pictures to the near by villages and its distributing area was consistent with the influential sphere of Yokaichi merchants.Such phenomon that all commodities of daily use are sold at the appointed market day, at local market, is seen only in primitive economic age or at the place, where there is no opportunity of gaining cash except in a certain season. In Tohoku or Echigo Districts in Japan such phenomenon still exits, but in Kinki it disappeared long ago. And it owes upon above mentioned reasons.