Where were the Japanese peasants likely to die

in the 17th-19th centuries ?

Hiroshi KAWAGUCHI

Faculty of Business Administration,

Tezukayama University

Introduction

The total population in Japan was stable during the 18th century and started to increase after 1840s.

Why??? We construct DANJURO system to collect, store,

and analyze historical documents.

Outline Introduction Source documents for historical demography

Data analysis system ： the DANJURO system

Death places of parishioners Birthplaces of the dead persons

Real situation of the dead in old diaries

Conclusion

Historical documents (1) The Japanese religious investigation registers

Period: 1680s?-1869?District: village and townContents: name, age, relation with the household head, change in family status, number of cattle or horses, size of the house, roofing material, cultivated acreage,

parish temple, religious sect,

etc.

Historical documents (2) The Buddhist temple death registers

Period: 1650s?-2010District: parish of the Buddhist temple? Contents: posthumous Buddhist name, date of the death, secular name, address, age at death, cause of the death, death

place, birthplace, etc.

Historical documents (3)

The household registers

Period: 1870, 1871, 1872?District: village and townContents: name, age, relationship with the household head, change in

family status, number of cattle or horses, cultivated acreage, parish temple, religious sect, occupation,

etc.

Goal of the DANJURO project　　 1. To reduce data processing to output demographic statistics and indicators.

2. To ensure the reliability of the data processing.

　　 3. To preserve historical documents in digital form.

　　 4. To share the data and data analysis method

with researchers around the world.

Structure of DANJURO system Data analysis system for the Japanese religious

investigation registers

Data analysis system for the Buddhist temple death registers

Data analysis system for the family registers

Technology to recognize handwritten characters in historical documents with neural network

Research funds, publication of research results, and prizes

Links to the related site

Index page of DANJURO

Historical GIS for analyzing migration Recent step 1: Draw a digital map of in and out 　　 migration continuously in any time period. Recent step 2: Count the number of migrants in 　 concentric circles with a radius of any distance. Recent step 3: Count the number of migrants in 　 each county or province.

Next step 1: Check the effect of administrative boundaries such as counties, provinces, and local load domains on migration of peasants.

Next step 2: Check the effect of natural obstacles such as rivers, sea, and mountains on migration.

Historical GIS for analyzing migration

Buddhist temple death registers in Tama County

The total number of the Buddhist temples in Tama County in 1969 = 585

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 11 / 585 ＊ 100 = 1.9 %

Villag/Town TempleYear of the

deathNumber of the dead

Itsukaichi Village A 1278-1910 2,542

Yokozawa Village B 1550-18041889-1910

2,601

Chigase Village C 1786-1910 2,207

Hamura Village D 1684-1910 2,906

Hamura Village E 1646-1910 2,413

Kawasaki Village F 1736-1910 2,608

Fussa Vilalge G 528-1910 2,879

Fukushima Village H 1364-1910 2,491

Hino Town I 730-1910 4,939

Uchikoshi Village J 1494-1910 2,045

Shimo-Ishihara Town K 1579-1910 1,631

Distribution of the Buddhist Temples in DANJURO

Death places of the parishioners in Tama Countyin the province of Musashi (1610-1910)

Out of the home village in Tama County: 73

In Edo City :103

In Musashi Province: 6

Out of Musashi Province: 46

China 　 and Formosa: 9

Sex and age structure of the parishioners who died out of their home villages

Sex and ageGirl

under 14Boy

under 14Femaleover 15

Maleover 15

Priest and so onover 15

Nun and so onover 15

Temple A (1760-1909) 0 0 5 23 2 0

Temple B (1610-1804) 3 0 23 23 18 4

Temple C (1810-1909) 0 0 1 7 0 0

Temple D (1760-1909) 2 0 3 7 1 1

Temple E (1760-1909) 0 0 3 12 1 0

Temple F (1760-1909) 0 0 7 16 3 0

Temple G (1760-1909) 0 0 0 2 0 0

Temple H (1760-1909) 1 0 5 8 1 0

Temple I (1610-1909) 1 1 2 18 0 0

Temple J (1760-1909) 0 0 1 3 1 0

Temple K (1760-1909) 2 1 3 9 2 0

Total 9 2 53 128 29 5

Seasonality of the deaths who died out of their home villages

Month of the deaths Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May Jun. Jul. Aug. Sep. Oct. Nov. Dec.

Temple A (1760-1909) 2 0 5 3 2 0 2 5 5 3 2 1

Temple B (1610-1804) 3 4 8 6 4 4 11 7 7 11 4 2

Temple C (1810-1909) 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 1 0 1 2

Temple D (1760-1909) 2 0 1 2 1 0 2 0 3 1 1 1

Temple E (1760-1909) 1 2 0 3 0 2 4 1 0 1 2 0

Temple F (1760-1909) 2 3 1 3 2 1 6 0 3 0 2 3

Temple G (1760-1909) 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0

Temple H (1760-1909) 0 0 2 2 0 0 0 1 5 2 3 0

Temple I (1610-1909) 3 1 3 2 1 0 3 5 1 2 0 0

Temple J (1760-1909) 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 1

Temple K (1760-1909) 2 3 1 0 0 1 2 1 0 1 4 1

Total 16 14 21 21 12 11 30 22 25 21 20 11

Birthplaces of the dead persons who died in Tama County in the province of Musashi (1610-1910)

From out of the village in Tama County: 60

From Edo City :49

From Musashi Province: 19

From out of Musashi Province: 90

Sex and age structure of the deaths who were from out of the parishes

and died near the temples

Sex and ageGirl

under 14Boy

under 14Femaleover 15

Male over15

Priest and so onover 15

Nun and so onover 15

Temple A (1760-1909) 1 3 5 14 1 0

Temple B (1610-1804) 1 1 15 24 35 0

Temple C (1810-1909) 1 4 2 7 1 0

Temple D (1760-1909) 10 4 3 7 2 0

Temple E (1760-1909) 1 1 3 3 0 0

Temple H (1760-1909) 0 1 3 1 0 0

Temple I (1610-1909) 2 2 6 17 3 0

Temple J (1760-1909) 0 1 2 3 3 1

Temple K (1760-1909) 3 4 6 8 0 0

Total 19 21 45 84 45 1

A dead person in a diary written by Mr. F. Sashida

Mr. Sauemon died of cholera in an hot-spring inn in the Village of Sokokura on 6 August, 1862. His dead body was carried to his home village by a palanquin at a distance of 75 kilometers. Then the funeral service for him was held in the village of Nakatoh on 8 August.

Japanese palanquin

Wooden coffin for the poor persons

The dead persons in a diary written by Mr. F. Sashida 　 and Mr. S. Kouno

A former village head in the village of Nakatoh died of illness in Edo City on 27 September, 1863. He kept a curio shop in Edo. On 29 September, the funeral service for him was held in the village of Nakatoh.

Mr. Matakichi Kuriyama died of illness on 25 July, 1875. He was 63 years old. He was born in the village of Funako, Aikoh County in the province of Sagami. The funeral service for him was held without any relatives in Hino post town, Tama County where he had lived temporarily.

Conclusion Death places of the parishioners living in Tama County

spread all over Japan from the 17th Century.

Birthplace of the deaths who died in Tama County also spread all over Japan From the 17th Century.

Males, females, adults, children, poor peasants and rich farmers died out of their home villages in all seasons.

On general principle, if a parishioner died far from his/her home village, the dead body was carried to the home village and funeral service for him/her was held in the home village.

If the birthplace was too far, if the dead person was too poor, or if the dead has no claimant, some dead were buried in cemeteries in Buddhist temples near the death place.

Death places and birthplaces of the dead suggest high mobility of the peasants.