The relationship between the stone industry and the settlement

A case study in Minamikomatsu, Otsu city, Shiga prefecture

Abstract

Recently, community development utilizing local characteristics has been carried out in various parts of the country. On the other hand, there are some areas in Shiga Prefecture where the history of stone processing has been developed, but history research has not been sufficiently performed. Minamikomatsu, Otsu City, Shiga Prefecture, which is the subject of this study, is one of them. Therefore, in this study, I will clarify the following two points for the purpose of grasping the characteristics of the settlement mainly on the relationship with the masonry production activities. The first one is about The Masonry production activities in the area (quarrying, processing and sales). The second one is Relationship between masonry production activities and settlements. As a result of The survey, Minami Komatsu had quarrying, stone export, processing, and shipping processes at each of the mountainous areas, settlements, and lake shores. Became before World WarⅡ. In addition, one of the characteristics of the villages in the area is that important buildings and land are still left in the villages which will help us to understand the history of the production activities even after the prewar masonry production activities were lost.