Category Archives: Cooperatives

Help each other in pairs of houses  Under the hill near the Yugaku Ohara Memorial at Nagabe, Asahi city, Chiba Prefecture, there are about 10a rectangular rice fields lined up neatly.  Once upon a time, the village houses were located centered on the shrine at top of the hill. On the other hand, the rice fields were located in the lowland. So, it was inconvenient for agricultural work. With the cooperation of the disciples, Yugaku carried out large-scale of arable land exchange and consolidation.  Children also worked for fixing and treading the footpath in the foot to learn the importance of mutual cooperation. Each one pairs of 2 houses were … Continue reading →

Consideration for heavy work of agricultural work Improvement of schedule making efficiency Yugaku Ohara focused on planning and rationality of agricultural work.  He guided farmers to make an annual agricultural calendar called “work assignment schedule (Shigotowari-hikae).”  It remains in Endo family, the headman at that time. The calendar indicated the labor force such as the size of arable land and the number of families, and estimated the annual labor amount for each work.  For example, in the case of the March, it indicated “wheat harvest, 5 persons 1 day, 5 man-days labor”, and ” rice planting, 5persons 17 days, 85 man-days labor”.  In addition, the annual calendar indicated the schedule … Continue reading →

Financing activity based on morality In Japan, at the end of the Edo period, due to the frequent famine and penetration of product and money economy, the finance situation of shogunate and the clan were extreme poverty.  The household of Jyube Hattori, chief retainer of Odawara clan (Kanagawa prefecture), had become impoverished. On the other hand, there was a young man who was 24-year-old and became a landowner of 1.4ha which were above the area that his father had.  It was Sontoku Ninomiya.  His family lost land in the flood of Sakawa river, and Sontoku lost parents until he became 16 years of age. But he repurchased the land by … Continue reading →

Even now spirit of mutual assistance The thought of Sontoku Ninomiya was handed over to “Hotokusha (organization of mutual reward for virtues).”  Hotoku is derived from the “I toku ho toku (reward for virtues by virtues) “, one of teaching in ” Book of Analects”. The Meiji government gave Sontoku the honorable medal “Jyu-yon-i (the fourth-place medal).” However, if there were no activity of Hotokusha after his death, he might have been forgotten.  It was his disciples who made efforts to spread the Hotokusha.  Among them, the achievement of Shoshichi Agui (1789-1863) was shining. Shoshichi was born in Minoge village of Sagaminokuni (Sagami country) (Minoge, Hadano city, Kanagawa prefecture).  Although … Continue reading →

Diligence savings, “the road to rescue the village” The information on activities of Shoshichi Agui (1789 ～ 1863) that, Hotokusha was established in Shimoishida  (Shimoishida, Higashi-ku, Hamamatsu city, Shizuoka prefecture) and Shoshichi rescued the poor by interest-free loan, spread throughout the Enshu whole area.  Saheiji Okada (1812 ～ 1873)  heard the information. Later, Saheiji established “Totominokuni (Tōtōmi Province) Hotokusha” and became president of Dainippon Hotokusha. However, at this point, Saheiji did not know Sontoku and Hotoku thought. Saheiji invited Shoshichi to his home and　received his lecture on Hotoku thought and practice of Shiho program for 3 days in the around-the-clock. Saheiji was convinced that “It’s just the way to save … Continue reading →