This paper investigates asset accumulation in Japanese farm households during reconstruction following the Showa Depression. After the Showa Depression, farm households emphasized accumulation of cash and quasi‐money rather than productive assets. The accumulation of cash and quasi‐money is consistent with the buffer stock hypothesis. Evidence regarding accumulation of livestock, which is sometimes used as the buffer stock in modern developing countries, is not conclusive. The presence of well‐developed financial institutions in prewar Japan may have allowed farm households to smooth consumption via cash and quasi‐money.