Since the beginning of the Japanese rule in Taiwan （1895）, the colonial government sought the way how to increase rapidly the rice production in order to satisfy not only the fundamental requirement of local people but also the urgent need of Japanese population. And as a result, the great demand of rural manpower and the expansion of land area of paddy field were absolutely necessary for the rice cultivation. In fact, the basis of paddy rice production in Taiwan had been established before the 19th century and the island gained a high reputation for the abundant supply of rice to her islanders and even to the inhabitants of China Fujian. This paper is aimed to discuss on the one hand, the question concerning the development of agricultural population and on the other hand, the expansion of the land area of paddy field in Taiwan under Japanese colonial rule.東アジアの歴史と動
