Part 46 (1/2)
Between 1887 and 1915 the area under barley and wheat rose from 1,591,000 _cho_ to 1,812,000 _cho_, the yield from 15,822,000 _koku_ to 23,781,000 _koku_ and the yield per _tan_ from .994 _koku_ to 1.313. Between 1882 and 1914 the increase in the crops of the three varieties of millet averaged .515 _koku_ per _tan_. The increased yield of soy beans was .229 _koku_ per _tan_, of sweet potatoes 138 _kwamme_ per _tan_ and of Irish potatoes 138 _kwamme_.
LABOURERS [LXXVI]. When hired labour is required on farms it is supplied either by relatives and neighbours or by the surplus labour of strangers who are small farmers or members of a small farmer's family. According to the Department of Agriculture: ”Ordinary fixed employees are upon an equal social footing. Apprentice labourers are very numerous. No working cla.s.s holds a special social position as such. This is the greatest point of difference between the j.a.panese agricultural labour situation and that of Europe.” The number of labourers in October 1920 was:
Day
Seasonal
All the
year round
Total ---------------------------
-----------
---------
----------
--------- Labourers living { male
119,676
52,007
49,110
220,793 solely on wages, { female
80,870
42,193
23,862
146,925 agricultural and {
other {
200,546
94,200
72,972
367,718
Labourers who are { male
949,266
407,596
188,369
1,546,231 labourers part { female
646,720
405,131
116,152
1,168,003 of their time
1,595,986
813,727
304,521
2,714,234
Total . . . . .
1,796,532
907,927
377,493
3,081,952 -----------------------------------------------------------------------
In addition to the total of 3,081,952 ”there are 32,973 agricultural labourers who are boys and girls under 14.”
DECREASE OF FARMERS TILLING THEIR OWN LAND [LXXVII]. In 1914 the number of farmers owning their own land was 1,731,247; in 1919 it had fallen to 1,700,747. In 1914 the number of tenants was 1,520,476; in 1919 it had increased to 1,545,639. That is, there were 30,500 fewer landowners and 25,163 more tenants. During the period between 1914 and 1919 the number of farmers (landowners and tenants) increased 30,293.
While from 1909 to 1914 the percentage of landowners fell from 33.27 to 31.73, the percentage of tenant farmers rose from 27.69 to 27.87 and the percentage of persons partly owner and partly tenant from 39.04 to 40.40. See Appendix x.x.xIV.
RURAL AND URBAN POPULATIONS [LXXVIII]. The following table shows the percentage of the population living in communes under 5,000 and 10,000 inhabitants in 1913 and 1918:
Year
Percentage of Population living in
Percentage of Families
Communities
engaged in Agricultural
------------------------------------
to Total Families in
under 5,000
under 10,000
j.a.pan Proper ------
---------------
--------------------
------------------------ 1913
50.44
72.39
57.6 1918
46.23
67.71
52.3 ------
---------------
--------------------
------------------------