Rice distribution in a large Western feudal domain in late premodern Japan

The research to date on regional rice distribution in late premodern Japan has focused on regions characterized by complex land ownership patterns where each landlord maintained hegemony over distribution. In contrast, this article examines the characteristic features of large feudal domains in Western Japan, focusing on bills of exchange for rice （komekitte 米切手） and utilizing the case of Tottori Han. In addition, the author introduces such aspects as urban social classes and rural de-mand associated with komekitte to reexamine the conventional scholarship on the interrelationships between feudal lords and merchants.<br> While komekitte is best known as a financial instrument in relation to the commercial warehouses （kurayashiki 蔵屋敷） built and operated in Osaka by feudal domains, in Tottori Han similar bills were used to pay the salaries of samurai. In the latter case, after putting aside the amount of rice necessary for his own needs, each samurai would sell the surplus komekitte to commercial middlemen （nakagai 仲買）, who would then distribute the rice among other samurai, retail merchants and peasants. When the holders of komekitte wanted to acquire rice in kind, the carriers （nakashi 仲仕） would present the bills to a domain storehouse in exchange for rice to be delivered to the holders.<br> In contrast to the komekitte of Osaka, which were traded as financial instruments in raising capital and whose dates of expiration were nominal, since in total they exceeded the amount of available rice inventories, the bills in Tottori Han were subject to expiration and were prohibited from use in futures trading similar to the Osaka Rice Exchange in Dojima.<br> In the castletown of Tottori, where the demand for rice in kind was filled by storehouse rice exchanged for komekitte, in the case of rice shortages, the domain would purchase komekitte held by middlemen and distribute them as emergency food assistance. There were also cases of rural communities not self-sufficient in rice due to geophysical conditions wanting to pay their yearly land taxes with purchased komekitte. The domain refused, demanding rice in kind only.<br> The author concludes that in the larger Western domains, like Tottori Han, the role played by komekitte in exchange for rice in kind was important unlike in regions with more complex land ownership patterns. Finally, given the fact that in order to manage the food supply and collect land taxes in kind, these domains promoted the movement of rice in kind and the use of komekitte to expedite food distribution, the author argues that the komekitte bills of exchange issued by domain storehouses and traded as financial instruments in Osaka were the result of a situation unique to a commercial center under the direct rule of the Tokugawa Bakufu.