Commercial Crop Areas and Manure Merchants in the Late Tokugawa Period

在德川时期，购买粪肥对培育适销农产品具有重要意义。本研究考察德川晚期粪商的经营管理。本研究关注的地区有京都的“棉花、油菜产品区”、Harima的“棉花、油菜产品区”、Awa的“靛蓝植物产品区”、关东北部的“粮食产品区”等地区。当地市场在19世纪开始在这些地区发展起来。随着发展，粪肥市场逐渐开放，粪肥商人的高利贷也越来越少。传统上认为，粪便商人的高利贷行为得到了加强，但这项研究发现并非如此。

The purchase of manure had an important significance in the cultivation of salable farm products in the Tokugawa Period. This study examines the management of manure merchants in the late Tokugawa Period. Areas which this study concerns are "cotton, rape product zone" in Kyoto, "cotton, rape product zone" in Harima, "indigo plant product zone" in Awa, "grain product zone" in North Kanto and other areas. Local markets started to develop in these areas in the 19the century. According to the development, the manure markets came to be opened and manure merchants became less usurious. It has been traditionally alleged that usurious-ness of manure merchants had been reinforced, but this study found otherwise.