Yamanashi Agriculture
Yamanashi farmhouse, ca 1950. Photo: SHSI (Iowa Heritage Illustrated, 82:2).
Land reforms during the occupation had a significant impact on Yamanashi farmers. Before the war, two-thirds of the agricultural land was rented by farmers (half of Japan's labor force) who paid landlords half of what they produced. The average farm was little more than an acre; many families lived in poverty. Post-war reforms redistributed land so families could own the land they worked.
~"The American Occupation of Japan, 1945-1952,
"Contemporary Japan: A Teaching Workbook,
Columbia University.
~"The American Occupation of Japan, 1945-1952,
"Contemporary Japan: A Teaching Workbook,
Columbia University.
Yamanashi farmers became leading livestock producers in post-war Japan.