抄録
Tairamura, a typical mountain village in Japan, is situated in Gokayama, in the south-western part of Toyama Pref. It lies on the upper stream of the River Sho. It is topographically isolated, being Surrounded by mountains. Here winter comes earlier than the plain country-the first snows comes as early as in October. As it snows heavily since December, means of communication is stopped till next spring. On account of the snow-fall, the cultivation period in a year is fairly short. Villages, which constitute Tairamura, stand on the river-terrace of the River Sho or gentle slopes formed by landslips. So that the land under cultivation is so much limited, and the steep slopes of mountain sides are used for “nagi”-fields where grass is burned in autum by way of fertilization. Therefore villagers are unable to supply the demand of their food. In the Edo Period they paid taxes to their feudal lord in the form of gunpowder they made. They also manufactured paper in winter and reared silk-worms in summer. They exchanged their products like these for rice and daily necessaries through the intervention of “hangata” (licensed merchants) in Johana.
With the collapse of the feudal system a great change was brought about in Tairamura-that is, as the result of the development of transportations, even the types of houses have been altered, and the management of manufactures has been modernized. Especially the foundation of electrie power stations in this area has conferred a great benefit. There is no more transactions of goods with “hangata” in Johama, But the condition of their living has not been improved. They have to go out to Hokkaido or to large cities in order to earn their livelihood. They have to bring rice to their village from plain land. By controling water they have irrigated rice fields. As they cannot expect satisfactory crops of rice in this region, climatically and topographically, it would be better for them to find out their some practical way of living as a mountain village.
