Changes in a Satoyama Landscape adjacent Big Cities since 1880s in the Kaseyama District of Kizugawa City, Kyoto Prefecture

Abstract

This study aimed to identify distinctive features of a Satoyama landscape in the Kaseyama District of Kizugawa City, Kyoto Prefecture since 1880s. The results showed that change was irrelevant in areas with rice fields or common forests, but that important changes had taken place in parts of the Satoyama landscape where crops, firewood, pottery and other goods for commercial use in nearby cities were produced. It was evident that rather than being defined by the existence of rice fields or secondary forests, the distinctive Kaseyama Satoyama landscape had in each period and throughout changes in society been a reflection of the process of active use of local resources for daily use or for commercial purposes.