taxation

Soma is located to about 40 km south of the Sendai city.

According to the work of Tomita Takayoshi of Souma samurai.
The beginning of the decisive financial difficulties of the Soma clan.
It's 150 years ago from this era.

A century had passed already from the Tokugawa regime established.
Of course sundry expenses had been pressure on the finances of Soma clan.
They decided to run a land surveying as its breakthrough.

Yields of rice of Soma clan.
It was sixty thousand（koku）nominally.


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Taxation to farmers had been determined by this number.
(rice amount that pay to lords.)

However，enfeoffment of the vassals was also included in this number.
Although vassals had to conform to policy of their clan，they were allowed the autonomy in their enfeoffment.

Therefore、the number after deducting  their enfeoffment.
Taxation was run using these numbers as a basis.

Sales profit of its rice as tax.
This was the state budget of them.

It was miniature version of the Tokugawa regime.

Japan was lord territory.
The Tokugawa regime was lord.
Lord was a vassals.

And although lords had to conform to policy of the Tokugawa regime，they were allowed the autonomy in their enfeoffment.
So the Tokugawa regime ran the nation by tax revenue of the territory of their own.

Of course the Tokugawa regime requested to cooperate to lords.
Lords were assigned to public works depending on their rice yields.
(Initially particularly，there was also the sense that dampen the economic strength of lords.)



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Lords also requested to cooperate to his vassals depending on their family status.

For example，lords borrowed the part of vassals harvest rice.
And sold it.
It was de facto donation.

Such a request became routinely.
Financial of vassals was also became naturally severely　
　
Above all，its base was always farmers.
After all，all difficulties were passed on to them.