In a continental scope, Japan is regarded as a single agricultural region characterized. by the intensive use of land, rice being dominant. However, if we look at the country more closely, we find that the country is divided into many land use regions differing in agricultural systems.
The present paper attempts to classify the land use regions by use of the following criteria which are considered as the best clues for the purpose.
(1) Kind of crops.
(2) Intensity of farm use.
(3) Degree of land use in relation to surface features.
(4) Distribution and use of grasslands.
(5) Distribution and use of pastures.
Fig. 1 shows the land use regions of Japan. In Hokkaido, the land use is simple. The three land use regions of Hokkaido conform to those climatic regions arrived at through use of certain values of the mean temperature of the warmest month.
In old Japan, the land use is intensive and complex. The three major land use regions of old Japan conform not to climatic regions but to those cultural regions classified from the view-point of cultural history and to those population regions delimited by the trends of agricultural population.
