In the Warring States period in Japan, there is a strong image that many people died due to many conflicts, but in reality, the population increased during the Warring States period.
So why did the population grow?
Sengoku period population
When it comes to the Warring States period in Japan, I think most people recognize that it was a war that lasted about 150 years after the Onin War (1467). The world is the Warring States period, the era of Gekokujo. Approximately ...
1450 Total population of Japan ... Approximately 10 million people
1600 Japan's total population ... Approximately 16 million people
During this period, the population has declined once, but has increased again (pre-modern Japanese demographics – Wikipedia).
Between 1450 and 1480, Kansho Famine There was a famine called (1459-1461), which killed 82,000 people in Kyoto alone in the first two months of 1461. The response has become a problem and is one of the causes of the Onin War.
And 1600 It was the year when the Battle of Sekigahara, which was the division of the world, took place. Since then, Tokugawa has opened the shogunate and the world has been peaceful for over 200 years.
Until the Edo Shogunate was opened, the battle continued, and I thought that the population was declining due to the death toll and food shortages, and the number has increased by about 1.5 times.
World Population
However, looking at the world, it seems that the situation is different, and it is said that the population decreased by 86% during the Three Kingdoms era of China, where the war continued. It is said that the total population, which was about 56 million in the late Han Dynasty (157), has decreased to about 8.18 million in the Three Kingdoms period.
On the other hand, in Europe ...
The long-term conflict between Britain and France, famous for the Hundred Years War, has lost a large population on both sides. Rural areas are devastated by war and looting. The plague has spread and one-third of the population of Britain and France has been infected and died. It has taken 300 years to recover the lost population.
The reason why the population increased during the Warring States period
So why did Japan increase its population during the war?
When a war is fought, farmers participate in the war, killed in action, and food should be reduced. Why? There are several reasons why the population will increase, so I will write it down.
■ Increase in production due to improvements in agricultural technology
In the Kinai region, triple cropping of "rice ⇒ wheat ⇒ soba" Was being done.
With the improvement of irrigation technology, it is possible to quickly drain the water put into the paddy field by constructing an irrigation canal and using a water wheel to dry the paddy field, and the technology to convert the paddy field into a field is evolving. I did.
In addition, the evolution of farming tools of farmers who are responsible for agriculture is also playing a role in improving agricultural technology. Technological improvement is not limited to agricultural tools, but the cultivated agricultural products themselves are also resistant to disasters, and varieties will be improved to suit each climatic condition.
■ Peasant / merchant autonomy arises
It has become possible for farmers and merchants of unknown origin to enter the society, which was not seen before the Kamakura period. With the rise of the social status of the common people and the development of commerce and industry, the common people have emerged as the bearers of culture. It is an era when people from farmers, like Toyotomi Hideyoshi, are allowed to work beyond their status.
■ Economic and distribution development
It was also during this period that Nishijin-ori, a high-class woven fabric, was made in Nishijin, Kyoto, using raw silk imported from Ming. Distribution has become active since this time.
■ Farmer =Soldier
The military commanders of each country protect their farmers and increase their grain productivity. Perhaps they wanted to avoid imitations that would reduce grain productivity.
■ The bottom is not related to the conflict between the owners
The wars at that time were all problems between lords, and they were battles to get the other party to recognize themselves and gain power, not battles between ethnic groups or religions. The purpose is just that. I should have taken the head of the general or surrendered it. The neck of a soldier who is a peasant is not very credited.
Moreover, in the case of a fortified city such as China, the lives of everyone living in that city were dangerous if they lost, but in Japan it seems that the samurai were desperate in the war and the farmers were watching sports with a bento in one hand. is. Soldiers, who are peasants, say they fled far away and looked at them comfortably when they were in danger.
To summarize briefly ...
Era of war =Daimyo from all over the world strive to increase national power
↓ ↑
Development progresses, agricultural production increases and population increases
↓ ↑
To be a wealthy soldier in an autonomous unit
There is no reason to kill people thoroughly in order to become a wealthy soldier, as it is an era of fighting over who will be the boss. Also, since it was not a war for the survival of the people, the entire clan was not killed.
It seems that the population increased during the Warring States period for these reasons.