As a result of the aging population in Japanese mountain villages, elderly persons have been forced to take on the burden of production activities. In the Gohoku Region of Kochi Prefecture, which is the target of this study, there are many communities comprised mainly of elderly persons who bear the burden of production activities.
The purpose of this study is to clarify the characteristics of production activities undertaken by elderly women in mountain villages where the aging population is increasing, and the conditions under which these women undertake production activities. In our analysis, we focus specifically on "agri-processing" by elderly women.
Following is a summary of the results of this study.
In mountain villages where elderly men are in a position of superiority, elderly women undertake many activities related to agri-processing. In order to avoid friction with the regional community, women have formed agri-processing groups under the umbrella of existing settlement organizations, and have shown the elderly men that they have the support of public institutions in higher positions of authority than those settlement organizations. As the elderly women continued to demonstrate positive economic results, the elderly men-often the spouses of the women involved-have come to understand these contributions, and now provide assistance in the women's activities. The agri-processing workplaces, in addition to promoting stronger social ties among the elderly women, have become a new venue for settlement activities in which the elderly men have also become involved.
It became clear through this study that the women participate in agri-processing while effectively coordinating the use of space and time in the context of their own lifestyle activities. Among the elderly women participating in agri-processing, women with family members living in the same household participate in agri-processing while coordinating the use of space and time in their own lifestyle activities because they must overcome the limitations placed upon them by their household activities. Elderly women living alone, on the other hand, can allocate time and space to accommodate the group's activities.
In this way, the elderly women of mountain villages have created a unique venue for production activities, and it would appear that in many cases, these women must at the same time overcome the limitations placed upon them by their households and the regional community in order to maintain these activities. Elderly women maintain the agri-production workplace by creating cooperative relationships with the elderly men who are the heads of the households and the regional community.
