View source for Nintozei

*''Japanese'': 人頭税 ''(nintouzei)''

The ''nintôzei'', or "head tax," was a tax levied by the [[Ryukyu Kingdom]] on the people of the [[Yaeyama Islands]]. It is generally said to have been an unduly heavy tax burden, and is perhaps the most oft-cited example of how the kingdom's control of Yaeyama was oppressive.

Residents of the small island of [[Taketomi]], who lacked sufficient arable land on the island to consistently grow enough rice to pay the tax, came to instead maintain rice fields on [[Ishigaki Island|Ishigaki]] and [[Iriomote Island]]s, using dugout canoes or small sailboats to travel between the islands to maintain their fields and to bring back the harvest to Taketomi.<ref>Plaque on-site at Nishisanbashi on Taketomi Island.[https://www.flickr.com/photos/toranosuke/53889863367/in/photostream/]</ref>

Even after the [[Ryukyu shobun|abolition of the kingdom]] in [[1879]], the [[Empire of Japan]] maintained the ''nintôzei'', finally abolishing it in [[1902]].

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==References==
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[[Category:Ryukyu]]
[[Category:Edo Period]]
[[Category:Meiji Period]]