Reconsidering Hokkaidoʼs “pioneers” as “gentry”

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  • 北海道の「開拓者」を名望家として捉え直す : 札幌郡豊平村の阿部与之助による拓殖事業
  • ホッカイドウ ノ 「 カイタクシャ 」 オ メイボウカ ト シテ トラエ ナオス : サッポログン トヨヒラムラ ノ アベヨユキジョ ニ ヨル タクショク ジギョウ

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The purpose of this paper is to redefine those who have previously been defined as Hokkaido's “pioneers” as Hokkaido's “gentry,’ and to examine the characteristics of the “gentry” in Hokkaido's history. To do this, I decided to examine the achievements of Abe Yonosuke, who is known as a “pioneer” of what is now Toyohira Ward, Sapporo. Yonosuke was born as the third son of a poor farming family in Kitamata, what is now Sakata City, Yamagata Prefecture. After moving to now Toyohira Ward, Sapporo, he successfully ran a merchant house and used that capital to acquire land, turning him into a huge landowner with many tenant farmers. He also ran a large tree plantation business. He donated large sums to build roads, bridges, village offices, primary schools, fire stations and other facilities. He served as the “総代人Sodainin” representative of Toyohira Village for many years and made a great contribution to the village administration. When Yonosuke was unable to serve as “総代人Sodainin” his adopted son Heiji served as the village “総代人Sodainin”. Yonosuke's donations to road and bridge construction were for the public good, but they also benefited his own agricultural and forestry businesses. However, Yonosuke's donations to the construction and expansion of primary schools were truly for the public good, not for his own benefit as he had no children. On the other hand, it is also true that the modern imperial system took root in rural society through the educational system. Japanese “gentry” like Yonosuke also played the role of mediating between the imperial system and rural society. Finally, let us consider the characteristics of Hokkaido's “gentry” through the exam ple of Yonosuke. One of the characteristics of Hokkaido's “gently” is that many of them have no continuous ties to their local area that date back to the Edo period. The Meiji government handed the land over to settlers without any consideration for how the Ainu had previously used the land. This was the policy background that gave rise to new large landowners like Yonosuke. In Hokkaido, local autonomy is more limited than in areas south of Honshu, and the participation of “gentry” in local autonomy is also limited. This is also one of the characteristics of Hokkaido's “gently.”

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