The Production Organization of Carpenters in Early Modern Kamakura

This paper examines the formation and operation of a carpenters’ production organization in early modern Kamakura through analysis of the nakama-chō. While previous studies have mentioned carpenter organizations in Kamakura only fragmentarily, this study reconstructs the production’s membership, regulations, and management based on this primary source. The production appears to have formed under multiple conditions: increased reconstruction demand following the Genroku earthquake, growth in the number and skills of local carpenters, and uncertainties in contracting under Kamakura’s complex lordship structure. Although subject to different lords, Kamakura carpenters formed a regional occupational community centered on the Taishi-kō.