Denkos were put in the situation where they could not earn a living without economical support by the owner, did not have the freedom of transfer and were locked in the land, which, they think, was a kind of serf system.
佃戸は地主によって経済的な依存なくして生計が立てられない状況に置かれ、移転の自由を持たず土地に呪縛された一種の農奴制であったというものである。