ABSTRACT
FROM Luts’un, which represents a type of rural economy characterized by petty landowners who occupy their farms and manage them mainly by hired labor, we proceeded first to Yits’un, a village situated in a gorge along a river which frequently floods and where the land is poor. The villagers of Yits’un would be even worse off than they are if they depended only on their land. They make up their deficiencies of income by engaging in two rural industries: basketry and papermaking. Basketry is engaged in by the poor villagers who cannot find full employment or secure enough income from farming. Paper mills are owned by rich houses that possess enough capital to build the plants. From their investment they gain high profits; however, expansion of the industry is limited. The wealth accumulated in the paper industry is usually redirected into land. Consequently, the millowners become, at the same time, the holders of large amounts of land. Land miles away gradually comes into the hands of a few houses in the village. Here we find the germ of capitalism in industry and absenteeism in the land system. However, within Yits’un there are no tenants. The owners rent only that land which lies too far away for them to manage themselves. When the village alone is considered, it is found to be made up mainly of occupying owners. But what happens if industry and commerce develop more? With these problems in our mind, we went to Yuts’un in the spring of 1940.
