明治以降における稲作商品生産の展開

供給地と消費地の分化をめぐって

抄録

Rice is a main product of all the agricultural regions of Japan and the economic nature of its production has long been defined as “self-sufficient”. However, in accordance with economic development and population growth, the common nature of “self-sufficiency” in Japanese rice production seems to be loosening. The inter-regional supply-demand relationship of rice diverges, reflecting the regional specialization of economic activities in the progress of the national economy. It seems to represent the differentiation in the role of the paddy farming which each of the agricultural regions performs. It would be reasonable, therefore, to reconsider the nature of paddy farming for every agricultural region.
The present report intends to characterize each of the rice producing regions by pursuing its contribution to the national market of rice during the past 80 years. Three indices-supply-demand coefficient, land productivity and labourcost-productivity ratio-were calculated over the four periods of 1883-1887, 1918-1922, 1937-1941 and 1958-1962 for each of the 45 prefectures.
The shift in these indices proved to represent the regional and historical movement of paddy farming. The 45 prefectures would be grouped into the following four main types; Types A, B, C and D.
Type A……Commercial Production Region. The regions falling into this category are characterized by the rapid increase in supply coefficient, land productivity and labourcost-productivity ratio. They apparently perform the role of rice supplying area for the national market, and are seen mainly in the north-eastern part of Japan.
Type B……Subsistent Production Region. Land productivity and labourcost-productivity ratio have emerged to decrease in these regions. Supply coefficient has also decreased and reached the level of subsistent production. That is, the supply capacity of rice is not so great as before, and rice is produced mainly for the local market. In these regions, the economic activities are carried on by non-agricultural industries, and the contribution of agriculture to them is definitely limited. These regions appeared in the central and western Japan, especially in the neighbourhood of the industrial regions described below.
Type C……Big-Demand Region. These regions are represented by the extra-ordinary decrease in land-productivity and labourcost-productivity ratio, and the increase in demand coefficient. The leading industrial regions of Japan including Tokyo, Kanagawa, Aichi and Osaka belong to this category. These regions are the principal national market of rice, which is formed by the concentration of population and the rapid development of industrial activities in these regions. In the late 19th century, they had the highest level of land and labour productivity of rice.
Type D……Small-Demand Region. All of the indices have consistently remained at the relatively low level through the four periods in these regions. They are under-developed areas of agriculture characterized by the lowest productivity. The south-western part of Japan is a typical case of this category.