DOI article:
Horio, Hisashi: Farm tools in the "Nôgu-Benri-Ron": intense hoe-farming during the Edo period in Japan
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.48999#0187
HOE-FARMING IN JAPAN
177
Ron. The hoe shown in fig. 16 is an example
of one that is not useful and is annotated as
follows: “This hoe seems to be thought useful
and is used in that district. By observing the
clumsily formed ridges in the field, we can say
that in practice it is not useful. It should be
improved by copying a useful model” (N.B.R.
vol. 1, 6). He gave no indication of the de-
fective aspect of the design. Probably he was
not confident in pointing it out. He, therefore,
adopted the method of comparing the unuseful
with the useful. But he had another aim. The
first half of the note gives a concrete example
in which an unuseful tool was used and not
improved through comparison with tools in
other districts. His purpose in writing this book
was based upon the need to improve tools start-
ing from their actual state. Again in this pas-
sage, he re-affirms his purpose in his own way.
The diversification of tillage hoe designs is
to be recognized in the diffusion of the Bizchu-
Guwa, rake hoe (fig. 17) also. The description
of the rake hoe in the Benri-Ron demonstrates
its diffusion after the time of the Hyakushd-
Denki, which contains no description of the
rake hoe.
“The hoe called Bizchu-Guwa is slightly dif-
ferent from district to district, but the same in
function. In Bizchu and Bingo it is called Ku-
made-Guwa and is used in the field. In other
districts it is used only in the wet paddy field.
To till the field after reaping wheat-barley, the
farmer who has an ox or a horse used the Kara-
Suki to plough the field. The lumps in the
ploughed field are exposed to the sun and al-
lowed to dry for several days, and then crush-
ed. When it gets rain or is irrigated, the wet
field is puddled with a Maguwa drawn by an
ox or a horse and conditioned for transplanting
Fig. 17. Rake hoes, Bizchu-Guwa (N.B.R. vol. 1, 10).
Zinkenhacken, Bizchu-Guwa.
Fig. 16. An unuseful hoe. Sizes in mm (N.B.R. vol.
1,6).
Unbrauchbare Hacke. Grbssen in mm.
rice seedlings. On the other hand, the farmer
without an ox or a horse tills the field with the
Bizchu. ... In previous times, a farmer near
Edo said, they did not have the Bizchu and
tilled entirely with a hoe, however, in recent
times they made use of it and their hardships
diminished” (N.B.R. vol. 1,9).10
Bizchu-Guwa is believed to have been diffe-
rentiated and developed for deep digging in
fields of heavy and clayey soil. Its rake teeth
decrease the resistance during penetration into
the soil, minimise friction, and reduce adhesion
of soil to the blade.
Nagatsune illustrated six types of spade.
Three of them are shown in fig. 19; the 1st
177
Ron. The hoe shown in fig. 16 is an example
of one that is not useful and is annotated as
follows: “This hoe seems to be thought useful
and is used in that district. By observing the
clumsily formed ridges in the field, we can say
that in practice it is not useful. It should be
improved by copying a useful model” (N.B.R.
vol. 1, 6). He gave no indication of the de-
fective aspect of the design. Probably he was
not confident in pointing it out. He, therefore,
adopted the method of comparing the unuseful
with the useful. But he had another aim. The
first half of the note gives a concrete example
in which an unuseful tool was used and not
improved through comparison with tools in
other districts. His purpose in writing this book
was based upon the need to improve tools start-
ing from their actual state. Again in this pas-
sage, he re-affirms his purpose in his own way.
The diversification of tillage hoe designs is
to be recognized in the diffusion of the Bizchu-
Guwa, rake hoe (fig. 17) also. The description
of the rake hoe in the Benri-Ron demonstrates
its diffusion after the time of the Hyakushd-
Denki, which contains no description of the
rake hoe.
“The hoe called Bizchu-Guwa is slightly dif-
ferent from district to district, but the same in
function. In Bizchu and Bingo it is called Ku-
made-Guwa and is used in the field. In other
districts it is used only in the wet paddy field.
To till the field after reaping wheat-barley, the
farmer who has an ox or a horse used the Kara-
Suki to plough the field. The lumps in the
ploughed field are exposed to the sun and al-
lowed to dry for several days, and then crush-
ed. When it gets rain or is irrigated, the wet
field is puddled with a Maguwa drawn by an
ox or a horse and conditioned for transplanting
Fig. 17. Rake hoes, Bizchu-Guwa (N.B.R. vol. 1, 10).
Zinkenhacken, Bizchu-Guwa.
Fig. 16. An unuseful hoe. Sizes in mm (N.B.R. vol.
1,6).
Unbrauchbare Hacke. Grbssen in mm.
rice seedlings. On the other hand, the farmer
without an ox or a horse tills the field with the
Bizchu. ... In previous times, a farmer near
Edo said, they did not have the Bizchu and
tilled entirely with a hoe, however, in recent
times they made use of it and their hardships
diminished” (N.B.R. vol. 1,9).10
Bizchu-Guwa is believed to have been diffe-
rentiated and developed for deep digging in
fields of heavy and clayey soil. Its rake teeth
decrease the resistance during penetration into
the soil, minimise friction, and reduce adhesion
of soil to the blade.
Nagatsune illustrated six types of spade.
Three of them are shown in fig. 19; the 1st