Regional Diversity in Demographic and Family Patterns in Preindustrial Japan

Abstract

This article integrates recent studies of population and family history to sketch a new image of preindustrial Japanese society. With historical evidence at the macro and micro levels, we demonstrate that diverse demographic and family patterns coexisted before industrialization. We conduct a simulation study based on data from northeast, central, and southwest Japan and show how demographic patterns and family structures are related.We suggest that the varying levels of regional socioeconomic development influenced the necessity of maintaining certain ratios of working persons in households and shaped demographic and family patterns. Finally, we try to interpret the origins of varying demographic norms.