Famine mortality in Nineteenth-Century Japan: the evidence from a temple death register

An analysis of mortality rates in the Tenpo famine of 1830 among the Ogenji population was undertaken. The data from the Ojenji death register which provide comprehensive statistics on the Tenpo famine were analyzed and its implications to population growth in Japan were discussed. Results showed that the Tenpo famine was not the sole determinant of the slow population growth in the Ogenji population but it greatly influenced population stagnation in Japan during the 19th and the 20th century.