AN ESSAY ON THE DIVISION OF RURAL SPACE IN THE HOKURIKU DISTRICT

概要

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With the development of urbanization in Japan, the part-time farm households (farm families who devote themselves to both farming and side business) have been increasing in number and farming activities have been declining. On the other hand, rationalization of rural space such as farm land consolidation has been advanced corresponding to the devel-opment of agricultural techniques. It is a real fact that Japanese rural space includes not only many rural elements in landscape but also much more urban elements in functi-on. In order to classify and put in order such rural space, the writers attempt to divide the rural space considering the regional differences of economic activities of farm hous-eholds determined mainly by chances of non-agricultural side businesses. At the beginning, an analysis of three sample villages in Toyama Prefecture of the Hokuriku . District facing the Sea of Japan was carried out. The location of the three villages and the central cities is shown in Figure 1. As a result, four ideal types of employ-ment structure of farm households were established. Here, the employment structure means a combination of economic activities in which members of farm families are engaged. Then comparing with these types, we drew a several additional types by a study of all rural space in Toyama Prefecture founded on experiential decisions of geographers and agricul-tural administrators in Toyama. With the same method, all ideal types of employment structure covering the whole rural space in the Hokuriku District were established, and the division of rural space in the Hokuriku District was carried out based on the six ideal types (Figure 2). The division largely depends on experiential decisions of well-informed geog-graphers and agricultural administrators in this district. This is due to a fact that the writers could not find any appropriate statistical sources and had bitter experiences of not recognizing any real regional unities of employment structure from combinations of various statistics. Since several maps of the division determined by different persons are very similar and the types of employment structure of one prefecture are rather coincident with those of other prefectures, the present method of division can be considered to be reli-able. Under the provisions of the ideal types of employment structure of farm households, the following six spatial types are set up : A, B, C, D, E, and F type space. In addition to these six types, both D and E type space are divided into two sub-types: D1 and D2 type space, and E1 and E2 type space. F type space is also divided into four sub-types: F1, F2, F3, and F4 type space. In A type space heads of farm families and often other members commute to urban industrial jobs each day and yet continue to work on their farms in the evening, over weekends, and during annual holidays from the factory. The farmers keep their fields in expectation of higher value of the land in future. In B type space the members of farm families have just begun to commute to city-based factories or small scale factories in rural space because public and private transportation facilities have recently improved and various factories have been increasing in number even in rural space. But side businesses of farmers' wives are not so stable compared with those of A type space. Farm families in C type space live chiefly both on rice farming and wages of daily labor in construction works. In D typo space farm families still regard farming activities most important and they are occupied mainly by horticulture (D1 type space) or rice production and second cropping (D2 type space). In E type space there is little employment for village boys and girls who finished junior and senior high schools and they have to leave their home to find jobs outside.
The Association of Japanese Geographersの論文

AN ESSAY ON THE DIVISION OF RURAL SPACE IN THE HOKURIKU DISTRICT

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概要

The Association of Japanese Geographers | 論文

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