Life of Early Japanese Peasants (Rice Farming is a B*ch) | History of Japan 37

[@Linfamy]

Poo doesn’t get enough credit. The Heian Period (overview): kzbin.info/www/bejne/b6ubi42br7ugnNk Please consider supporting the channel =) 🔸PATREON (blog, art): www.patreon.com/Linfamy 🔸DONATE: www.paypal.me/Linfamy

[@revolutionarycomrade]

This must be why the poop emoji is so happy 💩

[@Linfamy]

💩💩💩🧻

[@oiudatropen9548]

Linfamy and it's SO pure- such a shame!

[@au9parsec]

The avaibility of Winnie the Pooh increased greater crop yeilds.

[@badgerman6666]

I'd like to see a video which actually explains where the Japanese got the idea of using fertiliser this wasn't actively done in the bronze age and i don't know a lot about the worlds agriculture so i think that would be an interesting video.

[@revolutionarycomrade]

It's good to learn about peasants once in a while, especially when most historical sources are more concerned with the ruling classes. Great video, I can't wait to see what you have up next for us 😁

[@Linfamy]

The 99% don't get enough love :p

[@LadyCoyKoi]

The reason for that is that the peasant class didn't keep or managed records or documents well enough for future generations to read. Finding documents from the lower status member of society was hard and many of them didn't know how to read or write. The nation had the belief that such things would keep them away from producing food for the nation, specifically for the nobles and royal family.

[@dku746]

Instrumentality1000 that’s the truth. History isn’t politically correct. You sound like a Marxist.

[@HisameArtwork]

Woe is the man with no rice paddy he who still lives with his daddy ... pure gold, this needs to be continued

[@Linfamy]

Do it :)

[@joannamysluk8623]

No fields where our food could be grown, By winter we'll all die unknown. I like writing poetry.

[@joannamysluk8623]

The reaper shall tear us apart, Also, thank you for the heart.

[@Linfamy]

Ah you just can't stop, can you 😄

[@joannamysluk8623]

@@Linfamy Be it the blizzard or be it the wind, A poet never shall give in.

[@masterbonzala]

One small rice grain for a man One giant improvement for humanities survival Awesome video!

[@Linfamy]

I believe that's a quote from Niiru Aruma-siturongu

[@bittu2507]

Lmao

[@KyoushaPumpItUp]

If you own a farm, you own a lot of food, which is something everybody needs to *SURVIVE* so that makes you king.

[@Linfamy]

Yeah but I'd rather be the person who other people make food for :p

[@KyoushaPumpItUp]

@@Linfamy Don't we all?

[@Schmetterwurm]

Let's all build houses, except mine is bigger because I own the food.

[@islamicschoolofmemestudies]

Everyone miss that reference*

[@weirqueen6998]

*NO* why? *THE SUN IS A DEADLY LAZER*

[@Euphoryaaa]

I’m really curious how they found out that complicated process of growing rice

[@Linfamy]

iirc the process came from the mainland

[@peachykeko2855]

learned it from the koreans. rice isn't native to japan so it has to have been introduced

[@jackjackyphantom8854]

@@peachykeko2855 Rice Agriculture originated from Southern China.

[@peachykeko2855]

@@jackjackyphantom8854 that's where the koreans learned it from.

[@jackjackyphantom8854]

@@peachykeko2855 Wet Paddy Rice Farming was originally associated with pre-Austronesian and Hmong-Mien cultures.

[@e21big]

I tried traditional rice transplanting once, way back when I was still in school - it's a pain, huge (yuuge) pain, for a lot and lot of people

[@Linfamy]

That must've been fun :p. I'm sure it was a good experience though. My school was more boring than yours.

[@acebalistic1358]

Neat. But I bet my school was the weirdest We had to learn the bill of rights Rap song

[@TheSlipperyNUwUdle]

@@acebalistic1358 that sounds so 90s. XD haha

[@acebalistic1358]

@@TheSlipperyNUwUdle I never recovered from the trauma.

[@alphax2641]

We still use transplanting method in Nepalese village. It is a backbreaking process. Just human labor and no machines. Government says machines on the way. I wonder when they will come.

[@anh-san]

Alpha X keep us updated. :)

[@alphax2641]

Aye sir.

[@williamadiputra2850]

Just curious, why rely on government? How? Machine handouts? Why not buy it yourself? Not rhetorical, genuinely curious

[@franciscraig8164]

@@williamadiputra2850 farming machineries are expensive for most independent farmers. Only large corporations could afford those goodies. :( (At least here in the Philippines)

[@Cleeon]

Are you Japanese ? If yes, keep us updated, we're interested to know when it come too

[@Crosshill]

dude i love you, linfamy, just casually dropping interesting connections between main crops and family structures, exactly the sort of holistic information i want

[@Linfamy]

Haha thanks brother :)

[@vashti7751]

it's amazing how you effortlessly put humor in your videos! Being a big fan of anything that's Japanese I love your channel. 🤓 big fan from India.

[@Linfamy]

Haha thank you! Hugs from USA :)

[@Linfamy]

2:56 I would survive ~50 seconds as a peasant.

[@Linfamy]

🤣

[@manager-nim2623]

You really hearted your own comment lol

[@Linfamy]

That's right, no shame here 😆

[@manager-nim2623]

@@Linfamy it's okay I do it with every comment I write 😂 now where's my like😏

[@Linfamy]

Since you asked so nicely

[@shivamthapa7303]

That was extremely informative my lord Lin. I cannot wait for the Kamakura video.

[@Linfamy]

Glad you like!

[@shivamthapa7303]

Oh definitely my lord

[@gogo-bluedynamite]

This actually great help. I'm making a story that takes place late in the Heian era and the three main characters are only commoners. It's hard to find what their lifestyle is like outside of the posh, aristocratic life.

[@cadethumann8605]

How goes your story?

[@thedoruk6324]

The royal's -slave force- , err, noble peasants really had it rough D:

[@Linfamy]

Them: well time to wade into the water to plant stuff Me: ew puddles

[@thedoruk6324]

@@Linfamy And snakes ! D:

[@anthonyfox585]

The DORUK eh snakes aren't too bad I had one come into my house the other day

[@Linfamy]

@@anthonyfox585 o.o noo

[@anthonyfox585]

Linfamy lol it was just a gopher snake 🙂

[@hellokitty11432]

Babies...the answer to everything!

[@Linfamy]

O.o 🤣

[@Linfamy]

Babies... the answer and the problem.

[@mr.monhon5179]

Well, atleast bebes are edible.

[@cadethumann8605]

​@@mr.monhon5179 Oh, dear God/kami, no...

[@patrickomeagher9868]

Another great video. It's not that uncommon to see families living separately even today in Japan. It's usually temporary because of work. I had several students that were 'business bachelors' when I was an ESL teacher there. It's also still a tradition for expectant mothers to return to their family's home towards the end of their pregnancy to have the baby and get help with the infant.

[@elizabethmender]

My great-grandmother is Chinese and helped raise my brothers and I. As a mother of 4 myself, I can absolutely see how this "division" benefits the entire family. I went home with my first, to learn, and then a relative would come and stay with us for the first month with each new child. A HUGE help!❤ I wish more people could/would utilize this.

[@k.y.r.i.a.k.i]

"They'd walk into their new house and bleh, dead"... Epic XD!

[@Sewblon]

So the husband had less responsibility to the wife and child than in modern marriages, because he still lived with his parents. But the wife had less responsibility to the husband and child, because she still lived with her parents, and could get her relatives to help raise the children. So it was less a nuclear family and more an extended family.

[@Linfamy]

Yeah. Though the husband had even less responsibility, not having to take care of the kids. Actually he could just leave both wife and kids if he wanted to. The wife and her family had responsibility over the kids

[@MichaelSHartman]

Thank you for a much overlooked relatable segment

[@F2t0ny]

Great vid. I'm doing research for a Japanese themed dungeons and dragons campaign and your vids have been helpful. The humor makes them very digestible.

[@nebojsag.5871]

Large, extended family collective farming in pre-industrial times was pretty normal. We called them "zadrugas" Whole villages would cooperate on certain tasks. It was called "Moba" or "Molba" which literally means "plea".

[@Julia-vb3rk]

My 90yr old mother was an Army brat her father was a brigadier general and for a while they lived in the Philippines. My mother still to this day will sing the planting rice song..the first line is' planting rice is never fun...'

[@elizabethmender]

Magtanim ay 'Di Biro!!!! My daughter's know this one too! My husband's Auntie is from the Philippines as well and taught this to them. I have not heard it in years. Thanks for the reminder!

[@amrithavenkataraman5072]

Commoners used free land for all kinds of things like... Grazing animals (*me*ok👍) Collecting wood (*me*good😁) And..... Catching pokemons (*me*wait what?!! 😂)

[@karolinakuc4783]

If a village had a shaman who could summon demons why not also some pokemon are just animals and used for meals

[@viiiderekae]

Lol my ancestors were rice farmers 😅 I managed to grow rice in an old ice cream container

[@DanielSilva-gc4xz]

🥚　卵　🥚

[@QWE2623]

hehe, great video as always :p i just found this channel two days ago and figured now was a good time to comment on it. I wish i had money to use for patreon

[@Linfamy]

No worries, glad you like the channel! ;)

[@franksinatra2530]

Very good videos, as always. Keep on Lin !

[@Linfamy]

Thanks! Guess I'll keep going ;)

[@franksinatra2530]

@@Linfamy Yeah, please, the history is so good :) ! Your videos remind me of Extra Credits without the political correctness. And japan obviously. Btw, I just subbed on Patreon, congrats you're over 300$/m now :)

[@Linfamy]

Woohoo thanks! I appreciate it ;)

[@claire3318_]

i’m studying to take the ACT and there was a section about culture in heian japan. i felt so smart :)

[@christianbarnhart8748]

So all you need is poo and babies to survive

[@Linfamy]

Hmm pretty much ;)

[@stljfkaus]

Ooh it’s 69 likes....

[@Linfamy]

@@stljfkaus ooh

[@user-cc7fk1zz9h]

Now it’s 96

[@seneca983]

"night soil"

[@AyubuKK]

Wow. I can imagine living in a large home with a bunch of other people. Daily home life must’ve been wild.

[@MissOdango]

I'm left incredibly disappointed at the end of every one of your videos, they all feel so short and 2 minutes long at most. However this is due to just being so immersed into your explanations that I lose track of time. Awesome content my dude.

[@Linfamy]

Haha sorry. Can't make longer content at the moment, I'm only one man. Maybe in the future though ;)

[@ampro9019]

You make history and lore easier to focus

[@a.d.9415]

More Shoen history! The estate system doesn't get talked about nearly enough in accessible media.

[@Linfamy]

You may be the first person to ask for shoen history :p

[@obdiane]

Can you do the life of a Samurai family/village?

[@silverjohn6037]

Are you sure the farmers were feeding the horses rice "straw" (ie the stalks after the rice was fully grown and the seeds were mature). Most grains that I'm aware of can only be used as "hay" to feed ruminant animals (cattle, horses, sheep etc) if the stalks are cut and dried before the seeds develop and the nutrients are still in the stalk. Since they were using the rice paddy system is it possible they grew one crop each year for the rice grain then a second crop which was harvested before it was mature?

[@GustavoSilva-ny8jc]

Some generations earlier but that help explains why Musashi had so much trouble raising his crop, even with help they almost died.

[@peanutsteak2216]

I saw you were one subscriber short of 18,000, so I thought I’d make it an even number.

[@Linfamy]

Yay thanks! Just don't unsubscribe when it goes over 18k to make it an even number ;)

[@peanutsteak2216]

@@Linfamy I won't. I only discovered your channel about a week ago, but I'm studying to get into Tokyo University for grad school and these videos are helping a lot.

[@Linfamy]

Ooh good luck getting into Todai!

[@asukahattori6054]

The rice farming reminds of my family members they do the same process.

[@thedoruk6324]

1:25 - *Best type of 'marriage' ever concluded by human species, we have to ressurrect it!*

[@Linfamy]

:D

[@Linfamy]

The best type of love is the separate type..

[@thedoruk6324]

@@Linfamy precisely, the parents knew that ! :)

[@htoodoh5770]

"The best type of love is a separate type.." Uh, no really.

[@thedoruk6324]

@@htoodoh5770 its not 'that' seperate(!)

[@ilianceroni]

4:30 I guess they where use apricorn at the time, poké balls were invented way recently

[@Linfamy]

This is correct, they used apricorns to make poke balls. You are very knowledgeable :D

[@animalia5554]

Do you think you might do videos on the different regions of Modern day Japan? For example, Hokkaido, Tohoku, Kanto, Chubu, Kansai, Chugoku, Shikoku, Kyushu, and the Ryukyu Islands

[@Linfamy]

Hmm.. it's probably better done by someone who lives there right now tbh. I do want to do history of Ryukyu islands someday though..

[@heymichaelvsaucehere9944]

I hear the Pokemon catching period was an exciting time. They went crazy for badges.

[@Linfamy]

Good times

[@razorsharpview9090]

Sir I @3:12 think you are wrong in the procedure of rice transplanting, actually the seedling are also planted in a wet paddy not dry, after they grow about 3 to 4 inches the paddy is flooded to soften the soil, after that transplanting will begin.

[@mrpotatoman2750]

As a filipino i would understand the hardwork of our filipino farmers and yes. Farming is very very hard.

[@idaearl6715]

Very interesting! Thank you

[@Linfamy]

😁👍

[@ginnyjollykidd]

Ah! It would have made a bit of a living if someone had a horse and a plow and rode them from hamlet to hamlet offering to plow their fields for a price or hay or whatever. Maybe. This does require 2 expensive things: the horse and the plow. There are people with discking machines now that plow fields for a price and make their living from going farm to farm, which are often side - by- side with others. I suppose machines are relatively cheaper now, much more efficient, and much more lucrative given the farms are side - by - side and easier to get to, like in Southern to middle Indiana. It was a service my Gram paid for to till her backyard garden. There had to be a few peasants who had a little more stock and money to do this kind of thing. There *are* after all the occasional outliers. I figure this would be grist for a novel. Like Barry Hughart's trilogy of Master Li and Number 10 Ox, stories of an ancient China that never was. I must consider this.

[@Linfamy]

Kinda like someone today who mows lawns :p

[@Kleans]

Catching pokemons. XD Great series you have. :)

[@Linfamy]

Thank you 😉👍

[@gentleman2410]

Catching Pokémon, cool idea for the ancient to kill time. Haha 😂 ✌️👍

[@richardsreviews8820]

Is the Cambridge History of Japan your only source for this? What books would you recommend for an economic history of Japan?

[@kelvinxu3058]

It is clear that Productivity/labour that was far behind the requirement for the traditional farm ricing makes the only issue that traps the people in the poverty😫

[@mitchellmaerz8429]

Very educational

[@knightshade6232]

My grandpa said that another reason 🌾 rice 🍚 farming in japan is more difficult for its reliance on manual labor, unlike in South east asia people plant rice with the help of water buffalo which are strong and are very gentle unlike horses, it also produce milk, and is use for transportation.... Sadly they can't survive in japan's winter. ❄️

[@funveeable]

My Vietnamese parents told me that rice farming in Vietnam was so popular that it was the primary reason China tried to invade Vietnam for over 1000 years

[@ginnyjollykidd]

Grass Pokémon were probably most common here. I can't see Pikachu or other electric Pokémon being able to thrive here because short circuits.

[@Linfamy]

This is true

[@grandmastercrusader8724]

Awesome video

[@Linfamy]

Awesome comment

[@ultraali453]

I like this video a little more than the other ones

[@hanoh2904]

Can we get other history periods other than hiean?

[@stefanatliorvaldsson3563]

great video

[@Linfamy]

👍😁

[@kyledionysus8707]

Lol I laughed when he said to catch Pokémon

[@Linfamy]

Historically accurate :p

[@jaychee9015]

Same, same

[@dantedrowson2511]

"And catching pokemon" 😂

[@Gustavogukpa]

Do you have a video showing the viewpoint of the barbarians in the north?

[@Linfamy]

That's actually in the works ;)

[@Gustavogukpa]

@@Linfamy you rock so much, really. I'm from Brazil and study politics so.I don't have time to sit down and learn about Japan, even more about early Japanese history..your channel allowed me to gather knowledge about this country I like so much on a easy way to understand and I'm very happy for it. Muito obrigado!

[@BewareTheCarpenter]

Why wouldn't you just make an irrigation system that let you flood a field or let it dry when you wanted? Then you wouldn't need to transplant each seedling.

[@ritawing1064]

My, that was interesting!

[@arklanbk]

i dont think anyone has that ad bar on the bottom any more, adblock is kind of universal now

[@sohnmh4129]

Whether you live in Japan, Korea or China, the life of the peasant is always hard

[@Linfamy]

True true

[@inquisitorsteele8397]

It's suck to be a peasant no matter where you are.

[@gabrielstein1779]

I thought the dude was taking a green dump on the horse in the thumbnail lmao

[@belobrdo1344]

Were tightly knit communities also absent in previous periods? Or are these semi independent households a phenomenon of the Heian Period?

[@Linfamy]

From what I've read...nah, the population was even lower in previous periods. Peasant communities were loose up to and including the Heian. The capital was pretty much the only "city." It had the largest concentration of people. Exile from the capital must have a harsh punishment for these nobles. There was no place in Japan like the capital, it wasn't like they could move to another city that's just a little smaller..

[@johnsamu]

Wait, you're telling me that rice does NOT grow in the supermarket, but I always see it coming out of a bag ??? It shouldn't get more crazy. Next thing you might want to tell is that milk comes from a cow instead of out of a bottle. 😜😁

[@bskorupk]

HA! What's Next? Spaghetti isn't made from the stalks of a Spaghetti Plant? ;)

[@johnsamu]

@@bskorupk Everybody knows spaghetti is a fruit and comes from a tree 😜😁

[@Linfamy]

I thought spaghetti comes cooked, with tomato sauce and meatballs.

[@bskorupk]

@@johnsamu And surely there's an Archery Range near Target! :)

[@bskorupk]

@@Linfamy Isn't Chef Boyard Dee an old Russian Recipe?

[@AbtinX]

In Shogun 2, I always peasant spam. When professional samurai charge at me you know what I say lol

[@violentxrosse9129]

*Sips Tea* Japan has been Exposed By the Great holy tea Spiller Linfamy Boi :)

[@mymagicloulou4394]

The real poverty is not people are farming rice. But when the land are barren that is difficult to take edible food, summary it's natural resources that determine how rich people are.

[@lloydbaltazar1095]

It’s the same in other Ancient Asian countries. Women stayed in their family ancestral home. The husband only visited the wife for sexual relations then had to return to his own ancestral house. He can only visit his children. Within ten years, they can move in together in a new house or in either of the ancestral houses. It worked

[@Nainz87]

When you say the male peasants wrote poetry... Does it mean that the peasants knew how to read and write at that age?

[@billcipherproductions1789]

It was a joke.

[@meredithr9824]

So, why did the more complicated way of planting rice become more popular?

[@Linfamy]

Better yield, easier weed control

[@squirrelknight9768]

I'd like to make a very large deposit to my wife today too.... She says her account is closed tho...

[@Cleeon]

I see they did an effective ways of maintaining family

[@Ken_Mochi]

in this modern era is using transplant mode right?

[@Smirky201]

but what about the fujiwara clan?

[@grandmastercrusader8724]

Please talk about the Mongol invasion of Japan

[@Linfamy]

Oh definitely

[@linclip]

But what about Sekiro?

[@Linfamy]

🤣

[@Kanoshe]

actually rice is one of the easiest crops to grow without machines...

[@vivanyatodd5036]

Yeah, but it's killing your back.

[@krushnaji4940]

No Bajra easiest crop you can grow

[@dancingterror9125]

My grandma is very industrious since we farm rice

[@siennakeeghan7764]

I saw an old Kung foo flick where some peasants were herding and an evil lord came in and ordered them off....now I get why it was a bug deal that one of the men yelled "This is free land, yiu cannot tell us to leave" I mean, he was murdered after which gave rise to the hero but now it makes sense

[@grantraynard]

Sun and moon tshirts but no Susanoo-no-Mikoto? I wanted all three.

[@Linfamy]

Haha I'll put him up pretty soon ❤

[@Linfamy]

Told ya: teespring.com/susanoo1 :p

[@ericblaire6732]

Only 125 people hold power over 6.7m Britain with 650 people controlling 70m people:

[@puttingthestoryinhistory2085]

How's the life of Heian middle class?

[@Linfamy]

I don't think there was much of one.

[@puttingthestoryinhistory2085]

@@Linfamy what do you mean?

[@j.kaimori3848]

Middle class is a fairly modern thing with varied definitions. I don't think they have a direct comparison.

[@dudanunesbleff]

For what I know, the cooked living separately and only contributing to make babies is a characteristic of matriarchal societies. Japan, by this time, still had remains of it, although women already didn't have political power.

[@torzytube2158]

How wonder how do they catch pokemon back in the day

[@MisterTipp]

Just the Tipp?

[@Linfamy]

;)

[@skydivingcomrade1648]

That's nuts!!!!

[@Linfamy]

What is?

[@skydivingcomrade1648]

@@Linfamy 1. Me at early hours without sleep thinking my two words made sense to anyone. 2. The idea that raising young children without their father in the picture on a daily basis is at all healthy for the children let alone an entire scocity. Just look at statistics regarding young men raised in single mother homes, then think about all the homes with present but weak or practically absent homes......... it doesn't end well for the children ot the scocity, neither does texting while sleep deprived. Great vids!

[@Linfamy]

@@skydivingcomrade1648 gotcha! Remember that it wasn't single mothers raising children, it was the mother's entire household. I'd bet that is healthier than having only 2 parents.

[@heartland96a]

What was the fate of the mother and child while under age ? if the father died ?

[@dallasdelay3468]

Pimping is easier than Farming. They only did it to make Saki

[@gilgamesh6135]

So those villages that we see in anime is bogus? Like those villages in Inuyasha

[@falrus]

Great video, but I still don't know what family married their daughters into to emperor's court and controlled the state for 200 years.

[@Linfamy]

Rhymes with bootymama

[@Momo__ONLINE]

My dad owns a transplanting field back my parents’ country

[@pumpkinlife103]

You stole my sub from extra credit. Be proud of yourself.

[@Linfamy]

Didn't mean to be a thief :O

[@mooreakeela256]

Me reding the title Rice farming is a bitch Me:(okay)

[@jotarokujo312]

What's this he isn't talking about the fujiwara clan ? 😳

[@discordcat1265]

Humanity answer to any thing : "We just got to out breed the threat."

[@Linfamy]

:p

[@bender535]

And catching POKEMONS

[@sneu420]

*catching

[@bender535]

@@sneu420 I wasn't a pokemon fan when I was young

[@sneu420]

@@bender535 LoL, same...! Quite a culture we've missed...!

[@bender535]

@@sneu420 yeah l guess but I have no regrets at all, The Digimon franchise was my thing.

[@sneu420]

@@bender535 Achievement unlocked - Awesome childhood...! :"}

[@thenomad4936]

Did you mean for the thumbnail to look like a guy farting and the horse eating it?

[@Linfamy]

Thanks, now I can't unsee it

[@thenomad4936]

Me neither, good video

[@riyadhf1rdausehh]

say hello to japanese version of late roman empire. (perhaps also the late american empire? *wink wink*)