Abstract
The central management functions of cities and the related issues have drawn a consid-erable attention in the held of urban economics and urban geography and it has been more so because of the recent understanding that those functions have direct influence on the growth of cities. In the urban structural study of metropolitan areas, central manage-ment functions draw special attentions.
In this article, only the economic function, which is considered as an important part in the capitalistic economy of Japan, is researched and analyzed. Here, the head offices and branch offices are treated as economic central management functions. The present study covers the period from 1907 to 1970. The objectives are to recognize the changes of the economic management area in each city (Sapporo, Sendai, Tokyo, Nagoya, Kanazawa, Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima, Takamatsu, Fukuoka), and to understand the process of growth of Central Regional Cities Sapporo, Sendai, Hiroshima, Takamatsu, and Fukuoka in Japan by analyzing the changes of concentration of their economic central management functions.
The changes of the economic management area in each city are shown in tables 3_??_7 and figures 1_??_4, and results are summarized as follows. (1) Economic management areas of Tokyo and Osaka have become smaller. Till 1935, their management areas were very wide. For example, that of Tokyo included Hokkaido, Tohoku, Kanto and the eastern part of Chubu region, however in 1960, it was reduced into only Kanto and the eastern Chubu region. (2) Kyoto also had a great deal of concentration, but its area has always been small. (3) The rank of Kanazawa as a management city has gradually dropped out. Especially after world war II, its importance as a management city dro-pped out rapidly. And Kanazawa has become a sub-regional management city. (4) Conversely, Nagoya has enlarged its economic management area after world war II, including Hokuriku region of Toyama, Ishikawa, Fukui prefectures. (5) Eukuoka, Sen-dai continue to have considerably large concentration. (6) Although Hiroshima and Takamatsu seem to have become Regional Management Cities only recently, the origin of such a transformation can be traced in the period before world war II.
Generally speaking, in parallel with the fact that Regional Management Cities enrich their management functions and widen their management area, the central management cities like Tokyo and Osaka lose the importance and their management areas become smaller. This process seem to have started around 1935.
It has been said that the Central Regional cities emerged only after 1955. But by an-alizing the concentration of economic management centers and the economic management area of each city, we can conclude that the periods around 1935 are considered to be more critical one.
This article is hoped to answer to the comments made by Mr. Yoshida on my previous essay appeared on Geographical Review of Japan vol 47, no. 5, 1974.
