Land Tax Reform (Japan 1873)
Encyclopedia
The Japanese Land Tax Reform of 1873, or was started by the Meiji Government in 1873, or the 6th year of the Meiji era. It was a major restructuring of the previous land taxation system, and established the right of private land ownership in Japan for the first time.
in 645 A.D. along with the adoption of the Chinese judicial system known as the . The previous system was an imitation of the Tang Dynasty
's corvee
taxation system, known as the . Taxes were paid in the form of rice and other crops under this system, and the tax rates were determined through the land survey created by Toyotomi Hideyoshi
. A proportionate annual tax was assessed according to the yield of a given plot of land. The principal farmer's name was registered in the land survey, and that farmer would be held accountable for the land tax. The payment could also be held as part of the village's collective responsibility under the .
The government initially ordered individual farmers to measure the plots of their land themselves, calculate their taxes, and submit the results to local tax officials. However, difficulties arose with the honesty of the measuring system when the 1874 budget showed that collected taxes fell far below projected values.
The government responded by establishing a land tax reform department in 1875, and began aggressive efforts to install the system. Under the direction of the new department, each prefecture was assigned a set amount of taxes it was required to collect. The department forcefully changed land values to meet the set amount if values reported by farmers did not meet projected values. This caused widespread resentment among farmers, and several large-scale riots erupted around the country. In January, 1877, the government lowered the tax rate from 3% to 2.5% in an effort to regain support for the land tax.
The department's aggressive system continued through 1878, but the strictness of rules gradually decreased as it became clear that required amounts would be met. The reforms had taken complete effect by 1880, seven years after the start of the reforms.
, and the cultivator was held as the taxpayer under the previous system. Taxation was also inconsistent, as values differed in certain regions of the country. The new land tax created a uniform system which taxed landowners based on the worth of their land, and were paid in cash instead of crops.
The main changes between the two systems are as follows:
The land tax reform ended up increasing the burden on villages with hunter-gatherer lifestyles in uncultivated lands, and resulted in several farmer insurrections against the Meiji government, including the and the . The discontent also helped fuel the . The Meiji government lowered the tax rate to 2.5% in 1877 in fear of further revolts.
in Japan.
Prior to the enactment of the land tax reform, the unilateral ban on trading and selling farmland was rescinded in 1872, and the use of real estate as collateral for agricultural loans was legalized in 1873.
was established, many of those given the right to vote in the lower house belonged to this landowning class.
storehouses in Edo
or Osaka
. The reform allowed farmers to sell their crops for cash directly to local merchants, and had a large effect on Japanese commerce.
began to be recorded in a registry as a result of the land surveys implemented by the land tax reform. These land bonds created a system of verifiable land ownership, indicated the person responsible for taxes, and established buying and selling rights, allowing real estate commerce and credit to become dependent on these bonds.
The land bond registry was dissolved in 1889 after its duties were handed over to the land register department in 1884. Payment of taxes was managed solely by this new department until 1961. All addresses, zoning classifications, and acreage information were transferred to the land register department, so it can be said that current Japanese land ownership records are directly traceable to the land tax reform.
However, details in the registry were not always accurate because of the primitive surveying techniques used by farmers at the start of the reform. This was both due to time and personnel limitation, and deliberate tax evasion attempts, ( and ) resulting in inaccuracies in the modern registry. The is currently underway to create an accurate registry for all of Japan.
Previous land taxation system
The land taxation system was first established during the Taika ReformTaika Reform
The ' were a set of doctrines established by Emperor Kōtoku in the year 645. They were written shortly after the death of Prince Shōtoku, and the defeat of the Soga clan , uniting Japan. Crown Prince Naka no Ōe , Nakatomi no Kamatari, and Emperor Kōtoku jointly embarked on the details of the Reforms...
in 645 A.D. along with the adoption of the Chinese judicial system known as the . The previous system was an imitation of the Tang Dynasty
Tang Dynasty
The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...
's corvee
Corvée
Corvée is unfree labour, often unpaid, that is required of people of lower social standing and imposed on them by the state or a superior . The corvée was the earliest and most widespread form of taxation, which can be traced back to the beginning of civilization...
taxation system, known as the . Taxes were paid in the form of rice and other crops under this system, and the tax rates were determined through the land survey created by Toyotomi Hideyoshi
Toyotomi Hideyoshi
was a daimyo warrior, general and politician of the Sengoku period. He unified the political factions of Japan. He succeeded his former liege lord, Oda Nobunaga, and brought an end to the Sengoku period. The period of his rule is often called the Momoyama period, named after Hideyoshi's castle...
. A proportionate annual tax was assessed according to the yield of a given plot of land. The principal farmer's name was registered in the land survey, and that farmer would be held accountable for the land tax. The payment could also be held as part of the village's collective responsibility under the .
Announcement of the reform
The Meiji Government announced the reformation of the land taxation system in 1873 as part of the Meiji http://kindai.ndl.go.jp/BIImgFrame.php?JP_NUM=40022968&VOL_NUM=00008&KOMA=276&ITYPE=0. Efforts at instating the system began the following year.The government initially ordered individual farmers to measure the plots of their land themselves, calculate their taxes, and submit the results to local tax officials. However, difficulties arose with the honesty of the measuring system when the 1874 budget showed that collected taxes fell far below projected values.
The government responded by establishing a land tax reform department in 1875, and began aggressive efforts to install the system. Under the direction of the new department, each prefecture was assigned a set amount of taxes it was required to collect. The department forcefully changed land values to meet the set amount if values reported by farmers did not meet projected values. This caused widespread resentment among farmers, and several large-scale riots erupted around the country. In January, 1877, the government lowered the tax rate from 3% to 2.5% in an effort to regain support for the land tax.
The department's aggressive system continued through 1878, but the strictness of rules gradually decreased as it became clear that required amounts would be met. The reforms had taken complete effect by 1880, seven years after the start of the reforms.
Changes from previous taxation
As mentioned earlier, taxes were paid in rice and crops until the end of the Edo periodEdo period
The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....
, and the cultivator was held as the taxpayer under the previous system. Taxation was also inconsistent, as values differed in certain regions of the country. The new land tax created a uniform system which taxed landowners based on the worth of their land, and were paid in cash instead of crops.
The main changes between the two systems are as follows:
- Taxes were calculated as a proportion of the cash value of the land based on harvest potential, rather than the actual crop yield.
- A cash-based system over payment with crops.
- A uniformly set tax rate at 3%; a reduction from the previous system.
- The landowner, confirmed by the issuance of land bonds, was liable for the taxes instead of the farmer.
- The system was standardized across Japan.
Stabilization of tax revenue
The government could be assured of a steady income because the tax was set at a constant rate against the value of the land, and revenue did not fluctuate with crop yields since tax income became independent of crop fluctuation. Essentially, the risks of crop fluctuation were pushed from the government to the farmer.The land tax reform ended up increasing the burden on villages with hunter-gatherer lifestyles in uncultivated lands, and resulted in several farmer insurrections against the Meiji government, including the and the . The discontent also helped fuel the . The Meiji government lowered the tax rate to 2.5% in 1877 in fear of further revolts.
Private ownership of land
Private land ownership was recognized for the first time in Japan with the issuing of land titles. The previous practice of land ownership was the , which stated that all land was under the sole ownership of the emperor. Individual farmers were merely borrowing the land from feudal lords, who in turn, were borrowing the land from the emperor. The reform abolished this archaic system of land ownership, and began to allow landowners to use their property as a financial asset in collateral or other investment. This was one of the first steps towards the development of capitalismCapitalism
Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
in Japan.
Prior to the enactment of the land tax reform, the unilateral ban on trading and selling farmland was rescinded in 1872, and the use of real estate as collateral for agricultural loans was legalized in 1873.
Suffrage rights
The previous feudal contract system became obsolete because the landowner was the one held responsible for taxes, and gave landowners the right to participate in politics. Later when the Imperial DietDiet of Japan
The is Japan's bicameral legislature. It is composed of a lower house, called the House of Representatives, and an upper house, called the House of Councillors. Both houses of the Diet are directly elected under a parallel voting system. In addition to passing laws, the Diet is formally...
was established, many of those given the right to vote in the lower house belonged to this landowning class.
Commerce and circulation of currency
In the previous system, rice and crops collected from each fiefdom were sold and distributed by wholesale dealers via daimyoDaimyo
is a generic term referring to the powerful territorial lords in pre-modern Japan who ruled most of the country from their vast, hereditary land holdings...
storehouses in Edo
Edo
, also romanized as Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of the Japanese capital Tokyo, and was the seat of power for the Tokugawa shogunate which ruled Japan from 1603 to 1868...
or Osaka
Osaka
is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...
. The reform allowed farmers to sell their crops for cash directly to local merchants, and had a large effect on Japanese commerce.
Establishment of land bonds
]began to be recorded in a registry as a result of the land surveys implemented by the land tax reform. These land bonds created a system of verifiable land ownership, indicated the person responsible for taxes, and established buying and selling rights, allowing real estate commerce and credit to become dependent on these bonds.
The land bond registry was dissolved in 1889 after its duties were handed over to the land register department in 1884. Payment of taxes was managed solely by this new department until 1961. All addresses, zoning classifications, and acreage information were transferred to the land register department, so it can be said that current Japanese land ownership records are directly traceable to the land tax reform.
However, details in the registry were not always accurate because of the primitive surveying techniques used by farmers at the start of the reform. This was both due to time and personnel limitation, and deliberate tax evasion attempts, ( and ) resulting in inaccuracies in the modern registry. The is currently underway to create an accurate registry for all of Japan.