The Problem of the Peasant Agriculturist in Meiji Japan, 1873-1885

The problem of the economic condition of the peasantry in societies in the early stages of an industrial revolution has long been a matter of interest to economic historians, and recently it has been taken up by economists concerned with the contemporary problem of economic development. The prototype has traditionally been the career of the peasantry in England during the period after 1750. The classical description of the fate of this peasantry is well known, a tale of ruthless enclosure, steady increase in landless day laborers, and a persistent decline in the standard of life. The ablest description of this process in the venerable vein can be found in the writings of Arnold Toynbee, Paul Mantoux, and John and Barbara Hammond. Since about 1925, however, the canonical view of the career of the English peasantry has come under serious attack by J. H. Clapham, T. S. Ashton, and J. D. Chambers. In fact, the older view so passionately explored by the Hammonds has been much modified, and a new picture of the impact of the industrial revolution on the peasantry is slowly emerging.