Sustainability of a Fishing Community Facing the Japan Sea

Abstract

The fishing group of Amamachi community, at the tip of the Noto Peninsula jutting out into the Japan Sea, is very distinctive in terms of life style. It has thus attracted many previous studies on this group in various disciplines. Most of them, however, have tended to demonstrate its uniqueness by introducing its uncommon customs. Nevertheless, such a conventional view should be modified now: this group, I think, is typical of kaimin (maritime people), one of the major marginal groups, whose importance has been r6ather neglected so far due to an influential and far-reaching point of view focused on rice cultivation.In the third section, the primary purpose to see them within the whole context of Japanese society in the right perspective was pursued. To do so, their situation was investigated in reference to kyakumin (major marginal people with autonomy) or kaimin with their own histories different from paddy-cultivating people. Unlike most kyakumin/kaimin groups, which have been weakened, dissolved or extinguished because of their failure in coping with new situations brought by changes over time, the Amamachi community has lasted well until now. Its sustainability deserves careful attention.Amamachi's fishing people are considered to be descendants of fishing people of Kanegasaki District located in the northern part of Kyushu. Since their arrival at the Noto Peninsula, they had been engaed in diving fishing under the protection of the Kaga Clan (Maeda Territory) until the end of the Edo Period (1603-1867). They had been conscious of their distinct characteristics and confirmed the difference between their own and surrounding societies by stressing their relation with the Kaga Clan and by remembering their own historical origin. Such an attitude was effective in keeping the autonomy of the group against the dominance of shumin (main people) engaged in paddy cultivation. In this sense, the Amamachi community indicated a prominent characteristic corresponding to that of kyakumin.On the other hand, another characteristic of theirs as kaimin is found in the following attitudes: wider mobility to seek better fishing grounds and acquire new trading areas, aggressive fishing methods based on high technical skills, and indifference to agriculture in general.In the fourth section, the second aim of this paper to substantiate the sustainability of the community was explored chiefly by tracing changing processes of systems and customs of their society. In particular, I devoted attention to the two periods when the community confronted crises of existence: the time of the second half of the nineteenth century, when the modern age began in Japan, and the high economic growth period in the mid-twentieth century. Their reponses for surviving can be summarized as follows:As for the second half of the nineteenth century, because of the collapse of the Bakufu-system, the relation between the Kaga Clan and this community was annulled. This implied that they would lose the exchange route for marine products and agricultural crops. Fortunately, however, a loose stratification occurred in this period, resulting in an establishment of the oyakata-kokata (patron-client) relation. While oyakata newly came to be in charge of the exchange instead of the Kaga Clan, kokata could peddle their extra products individually-this was called nadamadari (peddling trip)-. This suggests that newly emerged oyakata had a certain power, but nadamawari and other community controls restrained an excessive stratification.With respect to the high economic growth period, the wide diffusion of powerboats improved fishing productivity and accelerated the monetary economy. These changes caused a dissolution of oyakata-kokata relation and a decline of nadamawari.