Page 227 - Changing Living Spaces

Agricultural Crises Due to Flood, Drought, and Lack of Sunshine

Table 1 Disasters in Takahama, 1793–1818
Year Bad Flooding Drought** Water Severe Earth-quake Fire Small-
Harvest (times) Shortage** Wind pox****
1793 0 0 0 8 0 0 0 2
1794 uk* uk uk uk uk uk uk uk
1795 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
1796 uk uk uk uk uk uk uk uk
1797 0 0 2 4 0 0 0 0
1798 0 0 0 9 0 1 0 2
1799 1 0 3 11 0 0 1 0
1800 uk uk uk uk uk uk uk uk
1801 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 3
1802 0 0 0 5 0 0 0 0
1803 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 3
1804 0 4 0 2 0 0 0 1
1805 0 0 0 3 0 2 0 1
1806 1 1 0 6 0 1 0 0
1807 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 83
1808 0 0 1 2 1 1 2 126
1809 1 0 1 7 0 0 1 8
1810 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 11
1811 uk uk uk uk uk uk uk uk
1812 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 1
1813 uk uk uk uk uk uk uk uk
1814 0 0 0 6 2 0 1 100
1815 0 0 0 3 1 2 2 1
1816 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 2
1817 0 2 1 0 1 1 0 2
1818 1 0 4 9 0 2 0 4
Total 7 12 12 78 8 11 10 351
Notes *uk= unknown; **= Number of days when drought was at issue ; ***= Number of
days delegated for rain making rituals; ****= Number of smallpox patients
Source Original digitised database from Amakusa-cho Kyoiku-iinkai (1985–1998);
UkM, Ueda Yoshiuzu Diaries.

curity of local administration. However, it is rare to find such diaries. In
addition to diaries, all local historical documents such as population reg-
isters, correspondence, official letters, and village budgets from the eight-
eenth and nineteenth centuries are safely preserved and available today.
The position of shoya was usually hereditary, and thus the village’s his-
torical materials were long kept in the home of the village head’s family.
The village head (shoya) of Takahama and Imatomi kept diaries de-
scribing the administration of the village community. The archives of the

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