Paddy Fields and the Natural Environment of the Edo Period : The Comparative Study on Kanazawa and Ryukyu

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  • 江戸時代の水田と自然環境 : 琉球との比較から
  • エド ジダイ ノ スイデン ト シゼン カンキョウ : リュウキュウ ト ノ ヒカク カラ

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Abstract

The purpose of this study is to show ways in which paddy fields transformed the natural environment during the Edo period by analyzing pictures drawn in that period in cultivators' agricultural manuals. The 17th century was a time of extensive reclaiming of land and construction of paddy fields in Japan. There was an enormous expansion of paddy fields on the plain with a corresponding increase in rice and other crop output, sufficient to contribute to increased commercial sale of crops. As a result, the population increased rapidly, but also experienced considerable economic growth. While the paddy field is a place to produce rice from the human viewpoint, from the viewpoint of the creatures and naturally growing plants, the paddy field is a waterside environment, too. Various creatures such as large and small animals, birds or fishes inhabit this environment, e.g., wild boars, deer, hawks, cranes, carp, snakes, frogs, and more. In the cultivated area, no pesticide was applied which might have poisoned such creatures. Therefore, the creation of paddy generated a new environment in which waterside creatures increased along with the construction of paddies in the Edo period. Did the number and variety of such creatures associated with paddy field really increase? I will investigate this question by analyzing Nōgyō-zue that depicted the scenery of the farm villages of the middle in the Edo period. I will pay attention to creatures drawn in these pictures to clarify the relationship between rural animal life in the Edo period and the ecosystem of the paddy field.

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