This article is an attempt to examine the change of agriculture and the trend of farmers in the Mikawa mountainous area (especially in Inabu cho and Toei cho) in the the period of higher economic growth after the Second World War. Mikawa mountainous area is in the northeastern part of Aichi pref. in Central Japan and extends near Toyota city where the automobile industry has rapidly grown in recent years (Fig. 1).
In Japan, the demand of industrial labor has increased in the process of high economic growth since 1960. Many young laborers in rural areas have moved into metropolitan areas (especially Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya). As the result, many mountain villages, which are now out of the mainstream of traffic, have been seriously depopulated. But after about 1965, the industrialization began to spread in many mountain villages because of industries, moving from metropolitan areas to mountainous areas for cheap labor. Furthermore, even in mountain villages, the improvement of roads and the motorization made commuting possible between the villages and neighboring industrial cities. Consequently, mountain villages were newly organized. Therefore, the author tries to clarify the following point: 1) the structure and its change of the local labor market through the above industrialization; 2) the relation of such industrialization and the outflow of agricultural population; 3) the relation of such outflow and the change in agriculture; 4) the trend of farmers in the two settlements which the author chose.
The following results were obtained:
1) The structure of the local labor market in this area changed after about 1965. Many small industries like automobile parts, textiles and electronics have moved to this area for the aquiring of cheap labor (Table. 4) and in the western district of this area, many people began to commute automobile industry in Toyota city by microbus (Table. 3) Consequently the labor market of this area has divided into three classes. That is, (1) both the labor market in the neighboring city and “the first type” labor market, which pay the average wages in Aichi pref; (2) “the second type” labor market which employs cheap labor composed of female workers; (3) the labor market of daily employment which is composed of the building industry and the sawing industry (Fig. 4).
2) Under such conditions, the outflow of agricultural population has increased (Table. 7). The author confirmed the fundamental tendency of “the outflow of agricultural population→the decline of agricultural production”. Though agricultural production (especially the production of rice, elephant feet and eggs) developed till about 1965, after which it began to decline. Many part-time farm-households which have remarkably increased, continue subsistence agriculture (monoculture of rice production). On the other hand, the production of broiler, tea and flowers shows a tendency to increasing development, but these products are produced by only a few upper class farmers.
3) Observing the trend of farmers in the unit of the settlement, in O settlement, Inabu cho, commuting farmers have continued or even expanded their farming, and in K settlement, Toei cho, in about one third of the total farm-households, the members are old people, and they are willing to continue the subsistence agriculture while their son works outside of this settlement (Table. 9). Recently, it is said that the depopulation of mountain villages has slowed, but such a phenomenon has a background that the old household has been increasing. So, we must consider that mountainous areas have new problems beyond the above depopulation.
Mikawa mountainous area is strongly connected to the automobile industry which has shown signs of prosperity during the recent economic depression. In that sense, this area is an exception in comparison with many other mountainous areas.

View full abstract

Among Marxian economic geographers in Japan, the theory of differential rent is considered to be one of the most important theoretical bases for theorizing about spatial movements of economy. In this paper the auther tried to examine some of these examples in their logics and controversial points, in order to make the limit and significances of such approach clear.
The differential rent is a surplus profit against the most inferior condition of production, which arises through the competition among capitalists and between capitalists and lead owners, at the capitalists who utilize fully employed superior conditions of production which are unable to reproduce.
The results obtained through our consideration based on above-mentioned points of view are as follows:
1. A location theory like A. Weber, which determines where a plant should be located, cannot be reinterpreted into Marxian theory by adopting the theory of differential rent, because the location theory of this kind and the theory of differential rent have two entirely different objects, the latter coming after the former.
2. It can be explained by shifting the general price of production that a location is always found at a superior land prior to the inferior, if the object comes to the stage where the theory of differential rent can be employed, which comes after the stage mentioned in 1..
3. The direct employment of the so-called “von Thünen's model” has little meaning, since the model is not consistent with the logics of the theory of differential rent. The spatial distribution of various sectors is rather determined by the steepness of their land rent gradients, as Brinkmann has pointed out.

View full abstract

One of the most remarkable rural landscapes in south-western Japan is the paddy field which strips are divided by Jori system in ancient times under the Ritsuryo regime. We can observe the trace of its system everywhere in the alluvial plains of these regions. So many manors in Kinki district established from Heian to Kamakura era (late 8th century-early 14th century), Kinai-Type manors, are influenced by this Jori system: Otogi-no-sho and others which belong to the Ichijo-in or Daijo-in branch of Kofuku-ji Temple and the Todai-ji Temple in Nara Basin (Sho means manor).
In the case of Otogi-no-sho, we can find historical materials of some archives and a manor plan: so called Otogi-no-sho Jori Tsubotsuke-zu (Zu means plan). The result that the writer reconstituted this manor, he found out the facts as follows:
1) In the middle of Kamakura era (the late 13th century) the medieval manor Otogi-no-sho was composed of nineteen myoshu's (Myoshu means the villager who hold paddy fields in the manor). Judging from the location of tsukuda's (Tsukuda means the demesne and the most fertile paddy field in this manor), the writer can classify them into three groups:
(a) The group which composed from ten myoshu's: each have tsukuda's in Tsukuda-tsubo (the most fertile paddy field in this manor). They are Azukaridokoro, Gesu-myo, Shoji, Goheizo, Zen'en, Zengaku, Zensho, Zokyo, Ryofutsu and Naramaru.
(b) The group which composed from seven myoshu's: each have tsukuda's in Juikka-tsubo (better paddy field in this manor). They are Gotoji, Goheita, Sakan, Shiro, Zosho, Tonai and Heitaro.
(c) The group which composed from two myoshu's: each have tsukuda's except in Tsukudatsubo and Juikka-tsubo. They are Kaishin and Togoro.
2) In regard to their arable land, probably paddy field (myoden's, jishiden's, kujiden's, etc.), the writer could distinguish them after three conditions: form of strip, location of cultivated land, and condition of irrigation.
The myoshu's who hold the arable lands under relatively disadvantageous conditions are included not so much in (a) group as in (b) and (c) groups, because (a) group had the best paddy field in this manor earlier than the rest.
3) We can understand that this medieval manor was organized through three steps at least.The facts found in this paper (so-called manorialization) have relation to the historical process in the formation of compact village in Otogi-no-sho.

View full abstract

The purpose of this paper is to clarify the characteristics of primacy and the expansion of urban area in Seoul city. In addition to these, this study aims to bring out the spatial distribution of urban population density in Seoul city by using Clark's and Newling's models and also trend surface analysis. The main results are summarized as follows:
1. Seoul city had emerged as a primate city since 15th century when it became the residential area of elite during Lee dynasty. Further, a few historico-economic factors have greatly increased the primacy of this city in the present century. The main factors are
1) The colonial policy of Japan during annexation period.
2) The immigration and migration after Japanese withdrawal and Korean war respectively and
3) The rapid economic development during recent years.
2. The structure of Seoul city, with reference to the extent and pattern of built up area, and the historical and economic structure within it, shows Dickinson's zonal arrangement theory (Fig. 3). The zone may be sub-deviled as follows:
1) Central zone: The zone before the expansion that is, 1910 and the part of adjacent zone.Population density is 10, 000persons/km²-20, 000persons/km² in this zone.
2) Middle zone: The zone between 1936 and 1962. Population density is around 10, 000persons/km² to 60, 000persons/km² in middle zone.
3) Outer zone: The zone after 1963. This zone shows a population density of 5, 000persons/km²-10, 000persons/km².
3. Clark's linear exponential model and Newling's quadratic exponential model illustrating the density profile of whole urban area and four sectorial components are shown in table 3 and Figures 6 and 8. Each parameter shows that the city has spread out further towards the North-East and South-West than towards the South-East and North-West. It is because each sector is different from its profile which is due to the time of formation in the built-up areas, the density of residence and residential quality, transportation accessibility and the pattern of land use. The distribution of residuals from the Clark's model indicates the negative value in the city center and in the areas containing non-residentials such as mountainous terrain, military areas, old palace and schools. On the other hand, the densely populated residential area nearby the city center shows the active value (Fig. 7).
4. The spatial quadratic trend surface forms nearly the hyperbolar indicating the saddle point of the city center. The isopleth of the trend surface shows the decline of population density with distance from the city hall to the South and North and the increase to the East and West (Fig. 9). It may be regarded that the profile of the density crater is transformed into hyperbolar because of the mountainous terrain in the North and military areas in the South.
5. Berry pointed out that non-western cities continued increases in D0 (overcrowding) and relative constance of b (urban expansion without suburbanization) in the western sense, but his assumption does not fit in the case of Seoul city. The result of each components, residual maps and the trend surface illustrates well the density crater of the city center. Moreover, improved transportation systems and a great demand for peripheral lower density-areas stimulated the urban sprawl as are shown in the case of the western cities.

View full abstract