Page 143 - Changing Living Spaces

Utilization of Grass and Wood in Common-Use Imperial Land

Table 6 Estimated Area of the Mountain for Collecting Karishiki and Grass
in the 36-hamlet CIL
Input to paddy and field Total Collecting from mountain
Total Area Quantity quantity Quantity per Total area
per 0.1 cho 0.1 cho
(cho) (kan) (kan) (kan) (cho)
Karishiki Rice paddy 166,20 204,0 339.048 48,0 706,35
Rice nursery 9,93 50,0 4.966 1,0 496,60
Total 176,13 344.014 1202,95
Grass Wheat field 166,20 198,0 329.076 61,2 537,70
Other field 94,20 198,0 186.516 61,2 304,70
Total 260,40 515.592 842,40
Note Although the estimated total area of mountain needed for gathering karishiki
was 1,202 cho, villagers gathered karishiki for rice nurseries and for rice paddies in the
same place but at different times of the year. Accordingly, the total area needed to
collect karishiki was 706 cho. The villagers cultivated rice in summer and wheat in winter
on the same land, so the area of rice paddies and the area of wheat fields were identical.
Source: Yamanashi prefecture (1903c, 72–9).

the total area; other fields 94.2 cho, or about 15 percent of the total area;
and nurseries 9.9 cho, or about 70 percent of the total area. Note that the
fields used for rice in summer were used for wheat in winter, so both kari-
shiki and grass were used.
Next, the amount of karishiki and grass needed per 0.1 cho of rice pad-
dy, field, and nursery was determined by interviewing residents (table 6).
These quantities were multiplied by the input area (table 5) to estimate
the quantities and areas of karishiki and grass collected. The total amount
of karishiki and grass collected, 859,606 kan (171,921 soku), was 4.3 times
the 39,871 soku paid to the BIe. The estimated area of mountain need-
ed was 706 cho for karishiki and 842 cho for grass, which could be covered
by the 1,128 cho of grass-covered mountains and 2,628 cho of deciduous
broadleaf forest identified in the forest conditions (table 2).

Cost of Alternative Fertiliser
The prefecture investigated how much it would cost per 0.1 cho to ap-
ply manure and fertilizer other than karishiki and grass to rice paddies,
wheat fields, and nurseries (table 7). This suggested that if labour were
paid to collect karishiki or grass, an alternative manure or fertilizer could
be purchased for about half the cost. In practice, however, karishiki and
grass could be collected for a small amount paid to the BIe when labour
costs were not considered. In the rice paddies, labour costs were about
3 yen, which could be replaced with night soil or soybeans for half that

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