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History of the world economy - Polyak GB

18.2. Development of the Japanese economy in the 8th and 12th centuries.

Agriculture

VIII century. In Japan was marked by the development of productive forces in agriculture. Chronicles, descriptions, literary monuments testify to the wide application and distribution of iron agricultural implements, the erection of dams, the creation of reservoirs, canals. In this regard, significant progress was made in agriculture. The productive forces are developing, the population is growing, the area of ​​cultivated land is increasing. At this time, crops such as millet, wheat, rye are grown.

Crafts and crafts

Crafts and handicrafts are still being developed, still connected with agriculture. For example, in the resolutions on allotments, it was noted that taxes were paid not only on products from grain crops, but also from commercial crops: taxes were levied in the form of textiles, raw silk, and blacksmith's handicrafts. Active at this time was the extraction of metals: gold, iron, copper, silver, and sulfur and mica. In those places where mountain industries developed, peasants had to surrender a part of the metals received as a tax, except for agricultural products.

In the VIII century. Authorities are trying to regulate trade: rules are being developed, in the capital, in specially designated places, at postal stations, in ports, markets are being created. In large cities, there were several markets.

Features of feolalizaisia

At the same time, the victory of Taika's reforms, enshrined in the Ritsouro code of laws, signified the affirmation of the influence of the Fujiwara family, which sought to weaken the imperial house. Fujiwara captured the emperor and transported him to his domain, they also managed to eliminate the idea of ​​the divine origin of the emperor and move the capital to their possessions. These feudal lords adopted their supreme position by capturing two key positions in the state: the post of Regent and Chancellor, which they held for almost two centuries. Estimating in general the processes that took place in the 8th-11th centuries, one can say that at that time the transition "from the domination of state feudal ownership to the rule of property of individual feudal lords" was carried out. This process took place gradually and had the following manifestation. In the VII-VIII centuries. The Japanese organize their lives according to the Chinese canons, attaching primarily importance to bureaucracy. But unlike China in Japan from the very beginning aristocracy, large landowners performed the functions of bureaucracy, which supported through political channels of communication with the peasantry. Therefore, the process of feudalization in Japan had its own peculiarities and consisted in the gradual abandonment of the clan tribe in the past from executing bureaucratic functions and performing these functions by inferior officials. In the process of feudalization, the feudal lords gradually lost contact with their feuds, estates, which were their economic base, and transferred all management of the farms to local feudal lords (ryushu) or to the manager (sokon). The higher aristocracy, who received part of the income from their estates, broke off all communication with the village and stayed in the capital.

The situation of peasants

There are changes in the structure of power, its former centralization is weakened, and from the 10th century onwards. All power on the ground is in the hands of local feudal lords and managers of different levels.

Such changes have a painful effect on the peasants, and consequently on the entire economy.

The local authorities, absolutely sovereign masters, did not limit themselves to the established tax rate and constantly raised it, which led to peasant uprisings. In the IX-XI centuries. The peasants withdrew from their lands. Such phenomena were once observed in China, where the authorities to leave the peasants from their lands were relatively indifferent, it was important for them only that the peasant work on the land and pay taxes to the state, and where this land was located, the centralized power was practically indifferent.

In Japan, the local feudal lords were not indifferent to such withdrawal of the peasants and they began to take measures to attach the peasants to the land and the concrete feudal lord.

Moreover, Japanese culturologists believe that the passive resistance of the peasantry, which, while leaving the kubunden land plots, undermined the entire allotment system and contributed to the development of the system of estates - soyen, caused a qualitative change in the society of the Ritsu-ryo system of laws and its transformation into a feudal society.

Forming a class of samurai

The mechanism of this transformation manifested itself not only in the general decentralization of power, the consolidation of the peasants, the strengthening of the power of local feudal lords, but also in the rise and rise of a new class that had never existed before. This class of Samurai warriors represented a new force and was formed from wealthy peasants directly connected with the land (Nanusi). Basically, these were peasants' elders, the strongest and most influential part of the peasantry, selected to fight the insurgent peasants and internecine war. As remuneration feudal lords gave the samurai to use the plots of land. This was the basis for the beginning of relations : the relationship of vassalage between the samurai and the feudal lord, which led to the formation of new relations between the feudal lords themselves.

Samurai

Large groups of feudal lords were united under the leadership of their leader.

In 1086, two groups of feudal lords were formed-Minamoto and Taira, claiming the status of a central government. The other feudal lords were attached to one or another grouping, depending on the possibilities of obtaining new estates from it. In the XII century. House Tyra, for example, had 600 estates in different parts of the country.

Samurais, meanwhile, gradually began to turn into a closed class - the Bushi . In their milieu, a code of military ethics, a code of conduct, the most important of which was loyalty to one's master, willingness to give his life for him, arose and was strictly observed. This code, as is known, provided, in case of dishonor or failure, for a certain hara-kiri ritual (suicide). The power of samurai was that the samurai consisted of landowners directly connected with the land and relying on a real base - agricultural production.

True, the samurai class included several layers, one of which was initially formed within the imperial system itself. His representatives were governors in the provinces, carried out a trial of criminals and were in charge of guarding the borders. Samurai served under such noble aristocratic houses as Minamoto and Tyra, but their real strength was determined not so much by their ties with the higher aristocracy as by their connection with the land, their relationship with the lower social strata, based on the feudal agreement between the lord and the vassal.