Both the commercial and recreation functions of central areas influence their surroundings. The former composes the “commercial sphere” and the latter the “recreation sphere”, and the relation between their influences on surrounding areas was studied. The towns of Shirahama, famous for hot springs, and of Koya, a temple town, were chosen for study since both have long histories as commercial and recreational areas.
The following results were obtained.
Commercial spheres, where basic commercial activities are done, form comparatively small areas where the density of combination decreases towards the borders, which is the general tendency, while the absorption force of recreation functions, such as everyday amusements, is similar to that of retail trade spheres. However, the absorption areas of non-every-day recreation functions is large. Moreover, their influence on neighboring areas is small, and they are strongly connected with cities that are far from them to some extent; and in remote areas they make related spheres which are not so closely connected to themselves. This fact is due to the following reasons.
1) Recreation cannot be achieved without going to the objective place, and it can not be transported as merchandise. 2) As recreation centers are the “earning places” for the people of the neighboring areas, the effects of recreation, which are achieved only by detachment from every-day life, are not brought about in the neighboring areas. 3) The recreation facilities of central areas is meant for travelers and not for the neighboring people.
Thus the difference between commercial spheres and recreation spheres of basic commercial activities has been studied. Non-basic commercial activities are attendant on recreation activities that form recreation spheres. These must also be distinguished from commercial spheres.

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In America, economic base concept is used for reality analysis in the field of city planning and urban geography, and is considered to be very effective in the study of areas. In our country, however, few studies have been made using this concept. The writer selected eight towns in the Nara Basin as sample areas and attempted a case study using both the macrocosmic method and the sales-employment conversion method. The following results were obtained.
As to the present situation:
1) The percentage of non-basic activities is 30 to 40% of the whole activities in all the eight towns.
2) The grade of surrounding activities (the activities towards the surrounding areas), that is the ranking of centrality is in the following order-Takada-Koriyama-Sakurai-Kashihara-Gose-Tenri-Tawaramoto-Ozi. The relative importance of surrounding activities in the whole activities is high in Tawaramoto, Kashihara and Gose. And these towns are the real local towns that have their surrounding areas as the basis of their existence.
3) In the other five towns far-reaching activities (the activities towards the far-away areas) is greater than surrounding. The existence basis of local towns extends to various areas outside the prefecture.
As to the process of the formation of the present situation;
1) Between the middle of Meiji and the beginning of Taisho far-reaching activities made their appearance and caused disparity in the existence basis of areas. Thus the present tendency was set.
2) The development of far-reaching activities brought about the perfection of internal activities. And the perfection of internal activities brought about the increase of surrounding activities.
3) In Takada, Tenri and Ozi where far-reaching activities develop and surrounding activities increase, the rate of population growth is high, and the eduction of commuters does not cause much problem. In Koriyama, Kashihara, Gose and Tawaramoto where the tendency is contrary to the above-mentioned towns, the rate of population growth is low and the importance of commuters has become great.
As to the advantages and disadvantages of the studies on functional regions by means of economic base concept through the above analysis;
1) We made the internal activities (the activities towards the internal areas) clear, which the central place theory whose object is to study the relation to external areas failed to achieve.
2) We analysed the whole functions, which the central place theory lacked, and located far-reaching activities and the surrounding activities.
3) Basic activities should not be determined merely by the market of merchandise and services, but should be considered by taking all the location factors into consideration.
4) In order to make such all-inclusive and minute studies on areas it is necessary to take an imput-output analysis.

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On the problems of industrial regions much has been researched by many geographers. Traditional industry was studied much earlier than the modern industry because of its historical and regional peculiarities, but the studies are rather isolated and little systematical. The author tried to make clear the peculiar production and circulation system and the historical development of traditional industry as the inner elements, and the relations with local agricultural conditions and the influences of the modern industry as the outer elements. Kasuri is the dyed pure cotton fabrics originated in the Edo era and continued as a traditional production in rural regions. Bingo (Hiroshima Pref.), Iyo (Ehime Pref.) and Kurume (Fukuoka Pref.) are the regions where most of the Kasuri are produced in Japan.
The purpose of this report is to compare with those three regions especially from the viewpoint of production, circulation system, the distribution of factories, the influence of rural economics in its procession and the relation with modern cotton industries.
At Kurume, far from the center of the modern fabric industrial region of Japan, where Kasuri fabric had its origin and from where its technique was spread to other regions, modern cotton industry was not established. The amount of Kasuri production gradually decreased there. Now Kasuri region at Kurume changed into the producer of special high grade Kasuri fabrics by manufacturing.
At Iyo and Bingo, they have been much influenced by the modern cotton industrial regions along the Inland Sea area, of which the center is Osaka.
In the Iyo region the modernization was delayed because the establishments were old-fashioned and the markets were not secure. But in the Bingo region, it was eagerly desired to adopt modern establishment and technique from adjoining modern industrial regions and the Bingo region (as a modern fabric industrial) grew larger than two other regions.
In short, we may say, the location of traditional cotton industry and its change are largely dependent on modern cotton industry.

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We have tried to study labor market from the regional viewpoint. The movement of labor between destination and origin has been elucidated by means of several different indicators. In the first part, studies-have been made on supply-and -demand relation of female cotton spinners' labor force: In the second part, the structure of labor movement to the two great demand areas (Tokyo and Aichi) from the adjacent prefecture Nagano in regard to sex (distinction) and education has been studied.
According to the studies made, the following results have been obtained.
1) As to female cotton spinners' labor force, supply and demand shows distinct regional concentration. 2) Far-away supply areas make “jump-over” movement to demand centers. And conditions are generally not advantageous to employers. 3) They saturate to the supply spheres nearer to demand centers after taking disadvantageous conditions into consideration. 4) The direction of movement to the two great demand areas (Tokyo and Aichi) from the adjacent prefecture Nagano and the sphere of the labor absorption-force in Nagoya from Tokyo and Aichi show great differences according to the indices of sex and school career destination. 5) Labor absorption-force distinctly indicates the differences of industrial structure. And Aichi that has greatly selective industrial structure receives female junior high school graduates. 6) The whole prefecture of Nagano belongs to the Tokyo labor sphere if collective outflow of the population is considered. It belongs, however, to the Nagoya (Aichi) sphere if the employments through Employment Security Organizations is considered.

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