There were also rows of bamboo racks along the edge of the fields, with bundles of rice straw hanging from them.
These were important means of production as well. After the rice was harvested in autumn, the straw would be hung here to air-dry, ready to be used whenever needed, without worrying about it rotting or getting moldy.
This was also the main feed for cattle, horses, and other livestock in the coming year. It was also used for making straw bales (a kind of woven container for storing grain, also called straw sacks), repairing houses, and making torches.
Harano, watching this scene, became interested and asked Yayoi, "How much farmland does the village have?"
Yayoi immediately replied, "There are 78 chō and 2 tan of paddy fields."
Harano was taken aback for a moment, not quite used to all the different units of the Muromachi Era: 5 square shaku is 1 bu (Goguryeo shaku), 360 bu is 1 tan (6x60 or 12x30; sometimes called 1 jō due to shape), 10 tan is 1 chō, 1 square chō is 1 tsubo, 6 tsubo is 1 ri.
These land area units were established back when Japan modeled its equal-field system after the Tang Dynasty's field division policies and implemented the handen system, also called the jōri system, and were largely retained until the end of the Muromachi Era. There were some adjustments and renamings in between, but overall the difference was minor.
Harano did some mental arithmetic, and felt the area was a bit small. It didn't seem like it would support so many people in the village.
Yayoi seemed to sense something, and carefully added, "Milord, there are also more than 310 chō of hatake dry fields, and over 140 chō of orchards."
Harano suddenly understood. At this time in Japan, "ta" referred exclusively to irrigated paddy fields, while dry fields were called "hatake," and non-grain planting land was "en."
The paddies themselves were further subdivided by grade: upper, upper-middle, middle, lower, with over a twofold difference in yield. Hatake had similar grades, but also included abandoned and fallow land, while "en" (orchards, gardens) and "yashiki" (residence plots) were remnants of the handen system. Yashiki meant residential land, en was for planting economic crops like mulberry, flax (including sesame, perilla, hemp, and so on), cotton, lacquer trees, bamboo, indigo (a general term for dye plants), and so forth.
Harano had no intention of delving deeply into the agricultural planning policies of Japan's Middle Ages. He was just curious and asked, "How is the harvest? The taxes you pay... hmm, land rent... the annual tribute—is it a lot?"
"It's not too bad..." When the topic turned to this, Yayoi became more cautious, stealing glances at his expression, and whispered, "My father said, currently it's go-kō go-min."
"You have to hand over fifty percent of the harvest?" Harano nodded knowingly. Ten-tax-five—relative to the thirty percent or so combined taxes of future generations like the income tax, consumption tax, city-building tax, and other random levies—was on the high side, but better than he expected. So he asked with concern, "Is what's left still enough to eat?"
Yayoi hesitated, confirming once again that Harano really was a noble who didn't know the hardships of common folk.
Harano noticed her expression and asked, puzzled, "Is that not right?"
Yayoi whispered, "Milord, you haven't counted cattle rice, rice interest, kajichi, military rations, and demesne fields yet."
"Cattle rice, rice interest, kajichi, military rations, and demesne fields?"
Yayoi stole another glance at Harano's face. Seeing that he was only genuinely curious and not about to get angry from ignorance, she explained cautiously, "Every year the village has to borrow cattle from the temple. After the harvest, we must pay the temple cattle rice—about one koku and two to per head."
At this time, before planting, the fields had to be plowed; stubble and weeds were turned into the earth and then the paddies were flooded—only after that could a new planting begin. This was exhausting work and a crucial factor affecting the harvest. Unless a household had plenty of able-bodied labor, it was best to use oxen instead. But keeping cattle was costly—a cow, even if idle, ate four kilos of straw a day, or fifteen kilos of grass, or three liters of beans or buckwheat.
During work, it was even more demanding—hay, grass, beans, and wheat were all needed, otherwise the animal would start losing weight drastically.
It also required lots of salt. When putting cattle to heavy labor day after day, about one hundred grams of salt per day were needed, sometimes up to two hundred; even during normal use, about thirty grams daily was necessary. Otherwise the ox wouldn't work, might fall ill, or even drop dead right in front of you.
All these miscellaneous expenses added up—keeping an ox for a year was no small burden, and the animals were easily stolen, so most farmers didn't dare raise them, and had to rent when needed.
After Yayoi's meticulous explanation, Harano understood, and asked, "What about rice interest?"
"Sometimes, when famine comes and it's not possible to store up enough grain before winter, the village borrows rice from the temple. No matter what's borrowed, it has to be repaid in rice," Yayoi explained carefully. "Most of the time, you have to return double what you took. Sometimes even triple. If you can't repay in one year, it spreads to two or three years, but each year more interest rice is added."
One hundred to two hundred percent interest? And it compounds?
Monks this ruthless? What happened to Buddhist compassion? But it seems monks all over the world do predatory lending, not just in Japan. No wonder monks got roughed up in every country and every dynasty...
Harano complained inwardly, then continued, "So what are kajichi and military rations?"
"Kajichi is the rice we pay the Samurai for their hard work managing us. It doesn't count towards the five-tenths (go-kō), and is split equally by all villagers," Yayoi spoke even more cautiously now, repeatedly peeking at Harano's face. "Military rations are rice levied temporarily in times of war, also not counted in the go-kō. It's... it's just a small token of gratitude for the protection the Samurai give us..."
So mid-to-lower ranking Samurai collect management fees? And there's a temporary war tax?
Harano mused for a second, and asked, "What about demesne fields?"
"Demesne fields are those where the main family presses people to do corvée labor, and all of the harvest goes to the main family," Yayoi continued to explain to the "young master ignorant of worldly hardship," pointing to the very best paddy field by the riverbank. "Those thirty or so chō over there are the demesne, which my father heads up teams to cultivate. All of the annual harvests go completely toward the tribute."