The research of the Shinshu silkworm-egg traders in the late Tokugawa Era

本研究旨在从两个方面对新修-上田蚕卵商贩的活动进行分析。一是德川末期蚕卵交易活动有什么样的契约制度，二是农商活动背后有什么样的村落共同体。三年的研究成果可以概括为以下三点：1)18世纪末以来上田地区的蚕蛋商活动是市场经济发展的主流。(2)龟井市蚕卵商贩独特的生产经营方式，主要表现为自产制、延伸制造(Kiridashi)、部分产区的买入制、长期可靠的交易(所谓的Taneba Torihiki)等要素。3)农商的大本营是家庭和家庭群体，由亲属关系(Dozoku)等复杂的人际关系构成。这种关系支持了背后的贸易商的经济活动。农户和家庭不同于现代的农户家庭。

This research aimed to analyze the Shinsyu-Ueda silkworm-egg traders' activity from the viewpoints of two matters. The one is what sorts of peculiar contract system the silkworm-egg trading activity had in the late Tokugawa Era and another is what kind of village community the peasant traders had behind their activities. The results of 3 years research project can be summarized following three points ; 1) the activity of Kamishiojiri silkworm-egg trader was the main stream of market economy development at the Ueda region since the end of 18th century. 2) the peculiar producing and trading style of Kamishiojiri silkworm -egg traders was characterized by some elements such as the self manufacturing system, the extended manufacturing( Kiridashi), the buying-in system from some producing districts and the long term reliable transaction (so called Taneba Torihiki). 3) The base camp of those peasant traders was family and family groups which were composed with complicated human relation such as kinship relation ( Dozoku ). Such relations supported the traders behind their economic activities. The peasant household and family was different from modern peasant family-household.