Taking Rural Community Seriously

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Other Title
  • 農地制度と農業集落
  • ノウチ セイド ト ノウギョウ シュウラク

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Abstract

The social structure of villages has long been seen as an undesirable feature of Japanese society. For centuries, it provided a mechanism through which landlords could control farmers. Before postwar land reform, it served as the basis of pre-modern feudal relations. Today, it is thought to be an obstacle to economic competition in an increasingly globalized world economy.<br>Yet the organization and function of rural communities is not exclusively negative; it also has desirable qualities. It has enabled small farmers to better manage their land, and facilitated coordination between individual farmers. More generally, it has provided a structure of governance in farming communities.<br>As demands for the opening of the Japanese agricultural market escalate, the structure and function of rural communities demands reexamination. This article analyzes the past and present characteristics of rural communities; how they manage, coordinate, and utilize land; enable the survival of farmers in small villages; and promote the development of sustainable agriculture. In doing so, it takes rural communities seriously by placing them in a richer and more complex context than many previous writings.

Journal

  • The Sociology of Law

    The Sociology of Law 2003 (59), 107-124,251, 2003

    The Japanese Association of Sociology of Law

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