Page 153 - Changing Living Spaces

Horses in Early Modern Japan

Figure 6
NDLDC, Ikoku sanba zukan

contains records of the establishment of ranches throughout Japan in
700 for grazing livestock and horses, and the establishment of state-run
ranches in 23 countries, including Ise and Settsu in 707 (Keizaisasshisha
1897, 481; Ōmiya and Munemichi 1892a 12; 1892b, 24). In the Nara peri-
od (710–794), a new bureaucratic post for the management of horses, the
Meryō, was established under the Hyōbu-shō. In the Heian period (794–
1185), Chokushimaki ranches were established separately from the state-
run ranches to raise horses to be offered to the emperor. They were locat-
ed in Shinano, Kōzuke, and Musashi provinces, where there were vast
estates. The Kamakura period (1186–1333) was a time when the samurai
ruled, and in the provincial wars that followed, horses were raised main-
ly for military use.
When the Warring States period ended and the Edo period (1603–1867)
began, the use of horses also became important for peaceful purposes.
Samurai raised horses as a symbol of their social status, but sometimes
owning good horses could be a financial burden.
In the Edo period, one of the most important uses of horses was to
transport baggage and people from one post town to another. In the ear-
ly modern period, daimyō (feudal lords) made a round trip from their
territory to Edo every two years as part of the ‘Sankinkōtai’ system.
Therefore, many people and goods were transported via the main roads.
The Tokugawa shogunate required people living along the main roads to
keep horses. This was a burden not only on the post towns, but also on
the residents of neighbouring villages, who were forced to keep horses to
support the post towns.
In the early modern period, it was difficult for Japanese horses (na-
tive horses) to pull heavy ploughs because they were small, with a
height of only about 130 cm. However, even in the early modern period,

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