Kokudaka
Encyclopedia
refers to a system for determining land value for tribute purposes in Edo period
Japan
and expressing this value in koku
of rice. This tribute was no longer a percentage of the actual quantity of rice harvested, but was assessed based on the quality and size of the land. The system was used to value the incomes of daimyo
, or feudal rulers, as well as to value the homes and fields of landowners.
This meant that a survey had to be made of all land-ownership and titles drawn up, creating a new class of landowners. Land was no longer held in the control of the daimyo. Above, the nation was a public domain under the emperor
, and now the legal owners of the land were the villagers. Moreover, the samurai
no longer had a right to a portion of the crop. Now tax had to be paid in cash and was not tied to the harvest but to the land valuation, so the state could plan its budget with greater certainty. While the taxes no longer went to unproductive samurai
but for development, the poorer peasants often lost their land because they had to pay in cash, with no allowance for poor harvests or for the effects of deflation and falling prices for their produce. Thus in the Meiji period
, tenancy increased from 30% to 45% of cultivated land. Tax was levied on the individual landowner, not on the village as in the Tokugawa period. The kokudaka system allowed wealthy peasants with ambition to expand and invest in other enterprises.
The system lasted until land taxes were reformed during the Meiji period
.
Edo period
The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....
Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and expressing this value in koku
Koku
The is a Japanese unit of volume, equal to ten cubic shaku. In this definition, 3.5937 koku equal one cubic metre, i.e. 1 koku is approximately 278.3 litres. The koku was originally defined as a quantity of rice, historically defined as enough rice to feed one person for one year...
of rice. This tribute was no longer a percentage of the actual quantity of rice harvested, but was assessed based on the quality and size of the land. The system was used to value the incomes of daimyo
Daimyo
is a generic term referring to the powerful territorial lords in pre-modern Japan who ruled most of the country from their vast, hereditary land holdings...
, or feudal rulers, as well as to value the homes and fields of landowners.
This meant that a survey had to be made of all land-ownership and titles drawn up, creating a new class of landowners. Land was no longer held in the control of the daimyo. Above, the nation was a public domain under the emperor
Emperor
An emperor is a monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife or a woman who rules in her own right...
, and now the legal owners of the land were the villagers. Moreover, the samurai
Samurai
is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau...
no longer had a right to a portion of the crop. Now tax had to be paid in cash and was not tied to the harvest but to the land valuation, so the state could plan its budget with greater certainty. While the taxes no longer went to unproductive samurai
Samurai
is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau...
but for development, the poorer peasants often lost their land because they had to pay in cash, with no allowance for poor harvests or for the effects of deflation and falling prices for their produce. Thus in the Meiji period
Meiji period
The , also known as the Meiji era, is a Japanese era which extended from September 1868 through July 1912. This period represents the first half of the Empire of Japan.- Meiji Restoration and the emperor :...
, tenancy increased from 30% to 45% of cultivated land. Tax was levied on the individual landowner, not on the village as in the Tokugawa period. The kokudaka system allowed wealthy peasants with ambition to expand and invest in other enterprises.
The system lasted until land taxes were reformed during the Meiji period
Meiji period
The , also known as the Meiji era, is a Japanese era which extended from September 1868 through July 1912. This period represents the first half of the Empire of Japan.- Meiji Restoration and the emperor :...
.