Draft:Basho contracting system

The Basho contracting system (場所請負制, basho-ukeoisei) is a distribution system unique to Ezo, which originated from the Akinaiba (Basho) Chigyo system or trading post administrative system, a form of administration (知行, chigyo) for vassals under the Matsumae Domain government in the Edo period.

Japanese and Ainu at a trading post, as depicted in an Ainu genre painting by Sadayoshi Kodama

The agricultural technology of the Edo period made it difficult to cultivate rice in cold regions, and the Matsumae clan, which ruled the Ezo region, could not expect a rice harvest due to the geographical location of the region. Therefore, the lord of the Matsumae domain gave a stipend to his vassals not based on the amount of stipend, but on the so-called Akinaiba administrative system, which was based on the relationship of master and servant. Under this system, a trading post (場所, basho), which was a fishing ground and trading area with the Ainu, was established as the equivalent of a salary in the Ezo and Wajin settlements (和人地, wajin-chi) other than the warehouses, and trading rights in the area were granted to the vassals as chigyo (知行), a system of administrative authority.

The Wajin settlements were similar to the local governor's lands in that they had the right to collect taxes in kind from fishermen. However, since most of the Wajin settlements were under the jurisdiction of the Matsumae domain, the majority of the vassals' lands were in Ezo. Even within those lands, all rights to collect money, hawking, salmon and trout fishing, logging, etc. belonged to the feudal lord. The only thing that the governor was allowed to do was to build a ship and trade once a year with his own money.

Administration after the establishment of the system

Iomante's feast. The villagers are feasting and dancing. A Japanese man, who appears to be the manager of the place, sits on the upper seat in front of the altar. From an Ainu painting by Hirasawa Byozan in 1875.

江戸時代の村落については村請制度やコタンも、身分の詳細は士農工商も

Under these circumstances, Omi merchants with ample capital and other merchants set up store in Matsumae and began to make full-scale inroads into the area. Vassals with knowledge of the region borrowed trading goods and even living expenses from merchants to engage in trade, and the resulting goods were given to the merchants for reimbursement. However, as trade in the Ezo region gradually became more complex and the capital and technology of the region became too great for the samurai to handle, the system shifted in the early 18th century to a system in which the trading rights themselves were delegated to merchants under the name of Basho-ukeoi-nin (場所請負人, contractor in the trading post), and the governor received a certain amount of money for the services rendered. This was the "Basho contracting" system.

Various forms of fishing labor existed among the Ainu, including employment-based labor at fishing grounds and independent operations known as jibun-kasegi (self-employed Ainu fishing). During this period, even within Wajin (ethnic Japanese) society, indentured labor such as tenancy farming, apprentice servitude (detchi-hōkō), and live-in housemaid service were widespread and considered commonplace; daily life was by no means easy.

Under the rule of the Matsumae Domain, the use of the Japanese language and Japanese-style clothing was strictly prohibited among the Ainu. However, during the later governance by the Shogunate's bugyō (magistrates), such prohibitions were lifted or even actively encouraged as part of a "Japanization" (wafūka) policy. Ainu individuals who adopted Japanese-style clothing reportedly received rewards such as garments and binzuke-abura (traditional hair oil). These assimilationist practices were primarily implemented among the so-called yaku-Emishi (functionary Ainu), but they were less prevalent among ordinary Ainu populations (hei-Emishi). The degree of Japanization varied by region. In some areas, Wajin agents involved in local economic administration promoted such policies vigorously, while in others the efforts were minimal or inconsistent. From the second Shogunate-controlled period onward, smallpox vaccination was also administered to Ainu populations as part of public health measures.

Chronology of the Basho contract system and Related Developments

• 1700s: Transition toward the basho ukeoi sei (place leasing system) progressed under the supervision of the Matsumae Domain.
• 1774 (An'ei 2): Four fishing grounds were converted to the lease system to resolve debts totaling 5,400 ryō held personally by Matsumae Domain lord Michihiro Matsumae.
• 1789 (Tenmei 8): The Kunashiri-Menashi War (also known as the Kansei Ezo Uprising). Ainu rose in rebellion during the absence of their otonas (headmen), expressing dissatisfaction over commercial trade and exploitative labor conditions at fishing grounds (see also the Ishūretsuzō portraits).
• 1795 (Kansei 7): Russian envoy Laxman arrived at Nemuro seeking trade relations, marking an increase in geopolitical tensions amid Russia's southward expansion.
• 1799: Eastern Ezo (Pacific side of Hokkaido) was temporarily taken under direct Shogunate control (kōgi goryō), becoming a shogunal territory. The Shogunate provided relief trade (gokyū-kōeki) to the Ainu and replaced the lease system in the eastern regions with a direct transaction system (jikihaba-sei), in which Shogunal officials supervised trade transactions to prevent fraud.
• 1806 (Bunka 3): Western Ezo was also converted to kōgi goryō, bringing all of Ezo under direct Tokugawa Shogunate control. The lease system was abolished in eastern Ezo, though maintained in the western region under direct official supervision.
• 1812: Due to cost-cutting measures and other factors, the Shogunate decided to reinstate the lease system [2]. In the following year, a bidding system was introduced, and measures were taken to improve the treatment of Ainu in various labor roles (zōeki, fuyaku).
• 1813: Basho contract system was reinstated at 19 locations.
• 1821 (Bunsei 4): The Matsumae Domain was restored to power. Oversight was transferred from the Shogunate back to the domain. After the death of domain lord Akihiro Matsumae in 1833, governance weakened and leaseholders regained broader authority.
• 1855 (Kaei 7): The Second Shogunate Rule (daini bakuryōki). Ezo again became kōgi goryō (Shogunate territory). The Matsumae Domain's holdings were limited to a portion of the Japanese-settled lands. Shogunal oversight of the re-designated territory resumed, and monitoring of leaseholders was strengthened.
• 1868 (Meiji 1): Basho contract system was officially abolished by the Hokkaidō Development Commission (Kaitakushi).

Abolition

Although thesystem officially abolished in September 1869 (Meiji 2) by Yoshitake Shima of the Hokkaidō Development Commission (Kaitakushi), opposition from leaseholders delayed its complete termination. In October of the same year, the system was nominally renamed as the "Gyoba-mochi" (fishing ground holder) system and temporarily continued in the former Eastern Ezo territories (the Pacific coast and the Kuril Islands), as well as in the northern parts of former Western Ezo, including the Sea of Japan and Sea of Okhotsk coasts. This decision, which contradicted earlier abolition plans, deeply disillusioned explorer and ethnographer Takeshirō Matsuura, leading to his resignation from office.

Between December 1871 and February 1872 (Meiji 4–5), following the abolition of the domain-based territorial administration in Hokkaidō, some gyoba-mochi were reappointed. However, in the former domains located south of the Ishikari River, such appointments were not made. The gyoba-mochi system finally came to a formal end in September 1876 (Meiji 9), marking the definitive dissolution of the institutional legacy of the system.

Unjo-ya (Trade and Administrative Houses)

Known also as unjo-ke, these were administrative and trade stations established under the Basho contract system across the Ezo region (present-day Hokkaidō, Sakhalin, and the Northern Territories). A total of 85 such unjo-ya were established, each staffed with officials including site managers (shihaijin), interpreters (tsūben), accountants (chōyaku), and guards (bannin). These houses were centers for both the administration of trade and the implementation of "pacification" and surveillance policies toward the Ainu population, including the ceremonial audience rituals known as omusha.

In addition to the unjo-ya, smaller guard stations (banya) were installed at individual fishing grounds, where guards were also stationed. Although initially designed as hubs for trade under the lease system, the unjo-ya gradually came to manage the direct operation of fishing grounds as well. They also served as lodging facilities (shukuba) and local outposts of the Matsumae Domain's governance.

During the period when Ezo became shogunal territory (kōgi goryō), these houses were renamed kaisho (meeting or office houses). Shortly before the Meiji Restoration in 1868, the unjo-ya system was officially abolished and replaced by honjin—regional branches of the Hakodate Magistrate's Office.

A notable surviving remnant of this system exists in the form of the Shimo-Yoichi Unjo-ya in the Yoichi District of Shiribeshi Province, a historically significant site in what was once the Yoichi basho (place/fishing district).

Related topics

Category:Economy of the Edo period Category:History of Japan by location Category:History of Hokkaido Category:Ainu history Category:Matsumae, Hokkaido Category:Hokkaido Category:Colonialism