2021 Volume 71 Issue 4 Pages 595-614
This study aims to reconsider the current perception of mountainous areas through a historical analysis based on the structure and dynamics of mountainous society before depopulation.
The results of the survey showed that numerous forestry workers migrated to procure a large amount of timber that supported the modernization of Japan, and a wide-area network was formed among the mountain village societies.
The network formed through the movement of forestry had the following characteristics. First, this network was entwined with the networks of various organizations and influential people through the development of transportation infrastructure and administrative organizations. A mechanism for politically and economically mobilizing mountainous areas was embedded within this network. Next, the traditional forestry area was the main employment source of migrant workers. A new deforestation frontier has also welcomed migrants from various regions. Consequently, this network has spread to mountainous areas throughout the country. Finally, this network consisted of various types of human relations networks that were autonomous from the state and capital. Specifically, it is created by gathering people with different forestry skills from across the country and interacting with people through a mountain pass in a narrow range. Conversely, it was created from the kinship networks and high social mobility found in the movement of people over a wide area.
This study has two significant conclusions. First, it emphasizes the wide and narrow spatial movement and high social mobility in mountainous areas, as opposed to the perception of mountain villages in previous research. Second, even in the present mountainous areas, which appear to be closed and rigid, an open and flexible social relationship exists at their core.
