Private railways in Japan play a part of feeders to the national trunk railways, and their freight traffic is directly influenced by the economic activities of the areas along the lines. The author tried to show the situation and characters of the freight traffic of Japanese private railways through analysis of the freight traffic density (per kilometer per day), and the composition of goods carried by the private railways.
In 1955-56, there were 136 private lines dealing with freight traffic, for 113 lines of which statistical data were available. According to the data for freight traffic density, there were 12 lines over 1, 000 tons, 14 over 400 tons, 25 over 100 tons, and 62 less than 100 tons.
The following five item of goods took large share in the freight traffic: agricultural products, forestry products, mining products, fertilizer, and cement and other ceramic products. The author classified the private railways into the following three types according to the composition of carried goods:
Type I: Railways serving agricultural and forestry areas ……Agricultural and forestry products or both of them originating from, and fertilizer terminating in these railways. 43 lines belonged to this type (38% of the 113 lines). Their freight traffic density was small in general, none with over 1, 000 tons or 400 tons, 9 lines over 100 tons, and 34 less than 100 tons.
Type III: Railways serving mining industry (coal, metal or non-metal), cement manufacturing works, heavy industrial areas, and port facilities……Mining products originating or terminating, or cement originating. 38 lines belonged to this type (34% of total). Their freight traffic density was high in general, 12 lines with over 1, 000 tons, 12 over 400 tons, 8 over 100 tons and 6 less than 100 tons.
Type II: Railways of an intermediate type between Type I and Type III, serving agricultural and forestry areas, and mines, manufacturing industries or ports……Agricultural, forestry and mining products originating, and fertilzer and mining products terminating. 17 lines belonged to this type (15% of total). Their freight traffic density was small in general, none with over 1, 000 tons or 400 tons, 7 lines over 100 tons, and 10 less than 100 tons.
Fifteen railways had other characters and they were unable to be classified (13% of total).
Significant characters of the freight traffic of Japanese private railways are that Types I and III occupied the most part of the private railways and that Type I could not show a high rank in the freight traffic density.

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Problem on the conquest of the inhabited areas (ecumene) is the basic theme assigned to geography. It is highly desirable that geography makes concrete and synthetic investigations into the inhabited areas and also acts the part of social initiator for the development enterprise. Tasks which settle this important focus in a creative manner, through courage and wisdom, by means of perceiving the actuality sensitively and severely, are required of geography that is courageous enough to deal with the relationships between the human being and the earth. In Japan, the life on alluvial lowland which has so far brought up our thought, behavior and even aesthetic sense is moving onto upland, hill-land and piedmont gentle slope, and it is not but a temporary phenomenon. Limit of high-density residential areas on the lowland claims new evaluation of the land.
Considering such a situation, the author grasped the reality in the latest residential developments based on the date of public works as economically and quantitatively as possible, and made inquiry into the distribution of urban occupance and residential development areas in Japan. This study also deals with the views of value judgement for the land and the development subjects, and has tried to find a key to the residential location theory. The experimental areas was taken from Yokohama City. Figs. 1 and 2 show the residential developments transforming the regional structure in terms of the relation between the area of residential developments and the removed earth quantity. Figs. 6 and 7 show dense and sparse urban occupances.
These investigations are only part of the study on the residential development. However, to get a good grasp of the reality in the residential and land development, it is most necessary for us to grip statistically such a morphological and dynamic phenomenon of land, and also to gain a deep objective insight into them. This phenomenon has an undefined complex dynamism and its speed differs from time to time and from place to place. Getting hold of the land development on each area keenly, considering it in relation to the existing regional structure, finding out its limit and possibility, and looking for values disclosed between human activity and land, and obtaining the modern viewpoint of geography, all these are the roles of geography that systematize them.
There is no other means than geography to grasp, with exactitude, the process of combining human activity with land in the regional structure.

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Ce rapport traite les liens entre les champs et les fermes qui component 1'habitat rural, et spécialement le parcellement et la dispersion des rizières. Les fermes composant l'habitat rural se divisent entre les familles principales et les branches cadettes. Elles sont dissemblables selon des propriétés foncières d'avant la réforme agraire (1947) et l'époque où des immigrés ou des rameaux des familles ont construit les fermes. L'auteur veut considérer que ces trois faits déterminent les rapports sociaux entre les fermes; donc, voici l'objet de cette études Même si des champs sont parcellés et dispersés, n'y a t-il pas de différence entre les fermes? Autrement dit, les rapports sociaux entre les fermes ne sont-ils pas reflétés sur les terres? Mais, l'habitat dispersé et l'habitat groupé sont-ils vraiement pareils? Elucidant deux points, l'auteur désire mettre au clair le reflet du phénomène social sur les terres qui reste toujours un élément du paysage agraire.
La méthode de cette étude est la suivante: portant chaque parcelle sur le plan cadastre, l'auteur a fait un relevé statistique des ilots. 11 a pris l'écart actuel entre les fermes et les îlots comme l'indice de la dispersion, la supérficie par îlots pour le degré du parcellement. Il a choisi un habitat dispersé et un habitat groupé dans le cône de déjection de 1'Ohigawa (dans la Préfecture de Shizuoka).
Comme exemple de l'habitat dispersé, il prend Kyubé-Ichiuémon Ukéshinden (fig. 1). Située au centre du cône de déjection de l'Oghigawa, cette région a été exploitée depuis 1667. Maintenant les rizières dominen t. La supérficie moyenne des champs par famille est de 0.89 ha. Fig. 2 indique les qualités des rizières. Cela permet d'observer qu'il n'existe pas une grande différence entre elles. Chez les fermes dispérsées qui ont des îlots près de la maisons et quelques îlots dispersés et parcellés, les rapports sociaux entre les fermes ne sont pas reflétés sur les terres.
Comme exemple de l'habitat groupé, il prend Masuzushimo-Kori. Cette région a été éxploitée depuis 1700 environs. Cet habitat était fermé, en mettant les branches cadettes voisines avec les families principales. La supérficie moyenne des champs par famille est de 0.95 ha. Comme fig. 2, fig. 6 indique les qualités des rizières. Cela permet d'observer qu'il existe une grande différence. Plus les fermes appartiennent aux families principales et anciennes et plus cues avaient des propriétés foncières avart la réforme agraire, plus elles ont des îlots réunis. D'autre part, les branches cadettes et les fermes nouvelles ont des îlots plus parcellés.
En conclusion, l'auteur veut définir “Socialité reflétée sur les champs”. Yoshihiko Shirai a déjà employé ce mot dans son rapport. Mais, it n'en donne pas la définition. Le sens que l'auteur propose est he suivant: d'une part, les fermes qui composent l'habitat groupé s'adaptent différemment à leurs terres selon les rapports sociaux entre les fermes, d'autre part, dans l'habitat dispersé, les fermes s'y adaptent de la même manière.

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