Geographical Review of Japan
Online ISSN : 2185-1719
Print ISSN : 0016-7444
ISSN-L : 0016-7444
Volume 40, Issue 7
Displaying 1-4 of 4 articles from this issue
  • Toshihiko AONO
    1967Volume 40Issue 7 Pages 337-357
    Published: July 01, 1967
    Released on J-STAGE: December 24, 2008
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    In this study the writer deals with the changing regional characteristics of the Sennan towel industry which, as other minor industries of Japan, suffers in these years of the economic prosperity the high cost of manufacture materials caused by the increasing impact of the big monopolistic companies.
    The towel industry in Sennan area has developed centering around Sano-mura (present Izumisano city) since the middle of the Meiji Era. Now Izumisano has about 260 towel plants, 2/3 of all the towel plants in Sennan. The economic boom in these years results favourable for the towel industry of this area bringing the “modernization” of the smaller enterprises; in 1961 the installation of new looms was increased of 50% and in the years 1956-64 towel plants showed an increase of 84 in number at Izumisano.
    In the meantime, the industry of Izumisano was gradually put under the subordinate relation with big monopolistic capitals. The new local Industrialization Act was enforced and a fishery combinate project was set to work. As the act was applied mostly to the equipment investment of upper group of minor enterprises which were connected with the big monopolistic capitals, it was not favourable to towel plants which belong to the lower group of minor enterprises in this area. The characteristics of the Sennan towel industry since 1956 are as follows:
    (1) Small plants increased remarkably in number. Many of them were set on by larger landed farmers whose family labor made possible the combination of the towel manufacturing with the farming mainly because of the following factors:
    a) the enrichment of farmers due to the change of their farmland for the industrial use as a result of the regional industrialization.
    b) the unstability of onion cultivation which has been important for farmers of this area as well as paddy rice cultivation.
    With the advance of the industrialization it is observed, as a general tendency, that smaller scale farmer-manufacturers give up the farming with the enlargment of their plants and larger ones keep farming even if in smaller scale.
    (2) The economic basis of many small plants with farming consists in, beside the food production for the self-sufficiency, the sum derived from the land disposal, the diversion of their farmland to their workyards and the loan from the agricultural co-operative.
    (3) Most of the small plants which started after 1956 keep rather independent character in their management without any subcontract relation with big industrial companies. Only a few of them (mainly with under 20 looms) have a temporary subcontract relation with large ones (mainly with over 31 looms). Actually, in the Sennan towel industry we can find three groups of plants:
    Groups Labor (secondary) Number of holding looms Number of plants
    Domestic plants family+(employee) under 10 about 190
    Smallest capitalistic employee+(family) 10-20 _??_ 120 plants
    Capitalistic plants employee over 21 _??_ 80
    (4) Some of the large plants with over 31 looms began to produce partly the towels ordered by monopolistic spinning companies, though this phenomenon is not so remarkable in Sennan as in Imabari, another large towel manufacturing area.
    (5) Large plants with over 31 looms have been modernized depending chiefly on the loan, but most of small plants remain unchanged.
    (6) The serious labor shortage brings about the considerable inflow of new graduates of junior highschools into Sennan. Many of the large plants, especially those located in the agricultural zone, employ these young graduates from other prefectures. On the other hand, small plants engage mainly the middle- and high-aged women of workers' families in the area.
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  • PART II
    Hiroshi OGURI
    1967Volume 40Issue 7 Pages 358-368
    Published: July 01, 1967
    Released on J-STAGE: December 24, 2008
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    The writer showed in Part I that regional characteristics of pearl culture include regional divisions of its stages and processes. Actually regional patterns consist of this regional division and the traditional conditions in various fishing villages. In this paper, the writer analizes the processes of acceptance of pearl culture in a new location under those conditions.
    The general postwar trend in number of pearl rafts shows a steady growth in all districts. About ten years ago a great expansion of rafts in suitable areas of southwest Japan took place because of maximum intensification in Mie Prefecture. At that time almost all districts were monopolized by Mie people. However, recently local pearl culturists have begun to develop along those coasts. As a result almost all newly developed coasts also have begun to show intensification. Available areas for pearl culture have become gradually more limitted. 88.6% of available bays and inlets in all prefectures, according to the national statistics of 1964 are already in use, prefectures with under 50% utilization are only three, Ishikawa, Shimane and Saga. No unused area remains in Hyogo, Hiroshima, Kanagawa, Shizuoka, Fukuoka and Miyazaki.
    Such development to pearl culture by both local and outside prefectural culturists have led prefectural government to introduce controls to protect local culturists. Many prefectures have begun to adopt restrictive policies to protect their own enterprises. 12 of 24 prefectures which have pearl farms have some form of such restriction.
    In prefectures with pearl farms where all grades of pearls can be cultured, strong restrictions are imposed on culture of oysters from other prefectures. For example, in Nagasaki Prefecture, the authorities have taken measures to restrict movement of oyster rafts and of entrepreneurs from other prefectures into Nagasaki Prefecture. Therefore, culturists from Mie have declined rapidly in recent years, from 10 in 1963 to one 1965. On the other hand local culturists increased from 129 to 201 during the same years.
    However, in areas requiring seasonal transfer between cool and warm water, it is rather difficult to protect local pearl enterprises. Generally speaking, in Setouchi Districts pearl culture in supported by culturists from Mie and other prefectures permission must be given them to culture in Setouchi areas in return for use of warm water in their prefectures. As a result protections of local pearl enterprises is different from Nagasaki. Authorities of prefectures along Setouchi Coasts are obliged to permit expansion of Mie and other prefecturel people in order to develop local pearl enterprises. In such case development of local pearl culture can be accomplished only with cooperation of other prefectures. Protective measures thus become more difficult than in prefectures such as Nagasaki were transfer of rafts is not necessary. Therefore, in the Setouchi areas many pearl enterprises from other prefectures still remain.
    Setouchi culturists had various kinds of jobs before joining pearl culture. They were ordinary fishermen, farmers, merchants etc. Many of them at first cultured pearls as a side job, but now some of them have become full time culturists. For example, in Okayama Prefecture, all of local culturists have side jobs of growing oysters for food, but in Kagawa Prefecture, of a total of 21 local culturists, four are full time culturists. In Hiroshima Prefecture, only three of total of 29 are locally owned, of these three, two are full time culturists while one cultures oysters for food as a side job.
    In Nagasaki Prefecture, culturists with no side jobs totaled 139 in 1965, part time culturists numbered 62. They at first started as small scale enterprises, but have increased their scale of management gradually and become stable. Therefore, they are changing their form of enterprise from individual to joint stock company, although their capital is not so large.
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  • Hisao ITO
    1967Volume 40Issue 7 Pages 369-372
    Published: July 01, 1967
    Released on J-STAGE: December 24, 2008
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
  • 1967Volume 40Issue 7 Pages 373-391_1
    Published: July 01, 1967
    Released on J-STAGE: December 24, 2008
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
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