[3] Edo imperial magistrates' jurisdiction did not reach these villages, which is said to have fostered defiance of political authority as a feature of the region.

"[6] In 1923, 2,000 hectares (20 km2; 7.7 sq mi) of the Goryō Farm were sold,[5] leading to the development of small villages throughout the Meiji and Taishō periods.

[6] The farmers who remained later won a long judicial struggle to secure their own rights to the land from wealthy Tokyo merchants who held land-bonds.

They performed heavy agricultural labour day and night, living in straw huts without electricity or running water.

In December 1963, the Aviation Council report to Minister of Transport Kentarō Ayabe [ja] recommended the Tomisato area, making no reference to the issue of land acquisition.

Additionally, because aircraft usage at the time was not yet common among the general public, people considered airports to be disruptions that burdened their surrounding environments with noise pollution and other issues.

On 21 June 1966, after the switch to the Sanrizuka plan had already been agreed between the government and the prefecture, Transport Minister Torata Nakamura [ja] told a press conference, "There is nowhere for the airport but Tomisato/Yachimata.

"[6][12] The following day, Prime Minister Satō held a broadcast conference with Governor Tomonō regarding the Sanrizuka plan.

[2] According to the Transport Minister's instructions in December 1966, the goal was to build the airport in two phases and begin operating the first half by spring 1971, with the remainder to be completed by the end of 1973.

[9] Beginning in August 1966, the union led a campaign to purchase single plots of land within the designated construction site.

[2] Early on 10 October, airport corporation members protected by approximately 1,500 riot police arrived to install surveying piles.

[2] From April to July 1968, the airport corporation ran a survey of the real estate of residents who had agreed to give up their land.

The union attended in protest, and the youth division destroyed the assembly hall, putting their leader on the police's nationwide wanted list.

The police became tougher on the opposition, arresting union leader Issaku Tomura [ja] and thirteen others in November 1969 for occupying a road and stopping a bulldozer.

On 22 February 1971, the government enacted the first administrative subrogation and the opposition supporters clashed with construction workers and riot police.

Four days later, riot police and construction workers arrived on-site to remove an elderly woman, Yone Koizumi, and demolish her house.

[3] On 1 October 1971, Fumio Sannomiya, a central member of the youth division, committed suicide, leaving a note that said, "I detest those who brought the airport to this land" and "I have lost the will to keep fighting."

The opposition union had also received a blow from mass arrests at the anti-subrogation struggle, with its initial membership of 320 households falling to 45, then to 23 by 1976.

On 17 April the opposition mobilised 17,500 people — an all-time record for the struggle — and held a general rally against the airport in a Sanrizuka public park.

One protester sustained a direct blow to the head from a tear gas bomb, lost consciousness, and died two days later.

[6][7] Authorities thought it impossible to protect the airport from militant attacks while also acquiring the second-phase land, leading to behind-the-scenes negotiations between government and union members.