URBAN FORMATION IN HIGASHIKUJO AREA, KYOTO IN THE EARLY MODERN AGE

Analysis of the relationship between landowner's land management and urbanization process

Abstract

 This paper focuses on the early modern urbanization process in the Higashi-Kujo area, the periphery of Kyoto, from the viewpoint of land ownership and land use. Shortly after World War II, extremely densely built up district and illegally occupied district formed in the area, so that the problem of a harsh living environment occurred. In addition, the area was subject to regional discrimination that originated in ethnic discrimination. The purpose of this study is to consider the factors that caused these urban problems through clarifying the urbanization process before the war.

 First, the rural structure before urbanization can be broadly divided into three areas: a village formed around the Takeda Street, and farmland spread east and west of the village. Comparing the farmland in the east and west, the east side of the village are relatively infertile, probably because the east side was the floodplain of the Kamogawa River. Lands in the village was owned by local owners, including small-scale landowners, while farmland in the east and west was owned by large-scale landowners, including absent landowners. In particular, Lands on the north side of the area near the old urban area tended to be owned by absent landowners. It shows that potential urbanization was proceeding ahead of urbanization. In the early Taisho era, factories were located around the villages, and Housing construction mainly in houses tenement houses rapidly progressed around these factories from the end of the Taisho era. However, some farmland and vacant land remained. Also, affected by the rural structure before urbanization, there was a difference in the development of the urban area between the east and west of Takeda Street. Because the southwestern part was more fertile than the east side, it was maintained as farmland. In other words, the east side, which was inferior as farmland, took the initiative in urbanization. In addition, in the margins of the formed urban area, small-scale defective housing districts are scattered, and they were also settlements of Koreans. Especially in the northeastern part of the area, which was close to pre-modern discrimination areas, the concentration of poor people led to the construction of public housing, social welfare facilities, and flophouse.

 Local landowners developed residential land following industrialization while securing the agricultural land in the southwestern part of the area to respond to the shift of the regional industrial structure from agriculture to industry. In addition, as poverty has increased, some have provided lands for the construction of social welfare facilities and public housing. However, each landowner had lands scattered throughout the area, so each landowner developed residential land individually. This is one of the factors that caused the poor residential area to remain small and scattered. On the other hand, some absent landowners were reluctant to convert to residential lands. Many lands continued to be held and remaining farmland was scattered. Especially in the northeastern part of the area, the remaining farmland and vacant land owned by absent landowners became all residential land after land readjustment beginning in the late 1930s and became a sink for extreme population inflow after the war.