Land Tax Reform
major restructuring of the previous land taxation system in 1873 Japan
The Japanese Land Tax Reform of 1873, or chisokaisei (地租改正) was started by the Meiji Government in 1873, or the 6th year of the Meiji period. It was a major restructuring of the previous land taxation system, and established the right of private land ownership in Japan for the first time.
Previous land taxation system
The land taxation system was first established during the Taika Reform in 645 along with the adoption of the Chinese judicial system known as the ritsuryō codes (律令国家, ritsuryōkokka). The previous system was an imitation of the Tang dynasty's corvée taxation system, known as the soyōchō system (租庸調, soyōchō). Taxes were paid in the form of rice and other crops under this system, and the tax rates were determined through the land survey created by Toyotomi Hideyoshi. A proportionate annual tax was assessed according to the yield of a given plot of land. The principal farmer's name was registered in the land survey, and that farmer would be held accountable for the land tax. The payment could also be held as part of the village's collective responsibility under the Murauke System (村請制, Muraukesei).
Announcement of the reform
The Meiji Government announced the reformation of the land taxation system in 1873 as part of the Meiji Daijōkan Ordinances (太政官布告, daijōkan fukoku)[1]. Efforts at instating the system began the following year.
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