抄録
The purpose of this paper is to clarify the process of reorganization of iriai syudan, a group that manages communal forest in a mountain village.
In the Taisyo era, iriai syudan managed the communal forest in cooperative labor (syutsubu) in Simojunenbata at Hakuta-cho, Shimane prefecture. In those days the membership of iriai syudan was limited to the inhabitants and common rights were being granted to each member. However, during the rapid economic growth period some of the inhabitants could not participate in syutsubu because of their age and the increase in part-time farmers. As a result, the traditional ways of communal management became untenable. Under such circumstances, in 1966, each member was permitted to have plural common rights, and those who left the village were also allowed to have common rights, depending on whether they could assume the respective responsibilities or not. Those who had plural common rights were required to take part in syutsubu quite often, and those who leave the village were required to take perform their duties by themselves or send another inhabitant in their place. These changes demonstrate how iriai syudan have been reorganized.
The significance of the study on Simojunenbata is as follows: Firstly, the preceding researches on iriai syudan mainly dealt with the process of disorganization of the group. However, this case demonstrates the process of reorganization. Secondly, recent studies on mountain villages discuss the construction of “river basin systems” , a comprehensive method of forest management. This paper examines the possibilities of such communal management.
