The main purpose of this paper is to analyze the land-allotment system called “jiwari” or “warikae” and the land use in the area along the Chikuma river in a case of Sannojima, Obuse-machi, Nagano prefecture. There are many settlements which have the systems along the river in Nagano Basin. Sannojima is located on the base of the Obuse Alluvial Fan formed by the Matsukawa river which is one of the branches of the Chikuma.
The results of this study are summarized as follows:
1) The land-allotment system in this area began in the Edo era. It has continued for more than 150 years since then. It was changed by the land reform after the World War II so that the lands became to be alloted equally to all farmers with the spread of egalitarianism.
2) The area along the Chikuma river is subject to frequent floods almost every year. The fieldsand crops are often damaged by them. The land-allotment system has the function that it reduces the possibility of damage of floods. The locations of the fields are regulary shifted to the other in order to avoid the risk of floods.
3) The land use along the Chikuma river is different from the left bank to the right. On the left deciduous tree fruits such as apples, peaches are predominant. On the contrary some kinds of vegetables are cultivated on the right.
4) The lands was alloted periodically every 7 years until 1975. Recently they are alloted every 20 years on the left bank and alloted every 10 years on the right. The period of allotment was prolonged in 1975.

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(1) The Himekawa drainage area is one of the most heavy snow area in Japan with annual cover of 1.5-4.0m. This area is divided into two sub-areas, the northern and soutern parts, at Nakatsuchi, Otari Village by the depth of snow and the time of melting. In the southern part, the snow is very dry because the altitude is very high with very low temperature. The snow cover is the deepest in late February or early March and last to the middle of April. On the other hand, in the northern part, the snow is very wet because the altitude is very low with higher temperature than the south. And the snow cover is the deepest in late January or early February and it lasts to the early April, a month earlier than the south. For these reasons, the ways of removing snow on the roofs and of melting snow on the field and the kind of decorations for the New Year are different between two parts. Furthermore, the way and tools of snow treading to keep paths in the snow are different between two parts by the snow depth and topographic conditions.
(2) Agricultural land utilization of this Himekawa area is restricted very strongly by the continuous show cover duration which reaches 120 days per year. Therefore, people in this area keep watching Yukigata (the shape of snow patches on the mountain high slopes) and common sayings which predict weather condition very valuably to make their original agricultural calendar by their traditions. Furthermore, they melt snow artificially to advance the season of seeding ricer and they contrive the way of seeding and cropping wheats which does not adapt to this area. From the viewpoints of the land utilization for forestry, the snow decrease the values of wood by bending trunks and breaking branches. On the other hand, the snow cover gives advantages for forestry such as preventing frost heaving, supplying water and preparing the roads to transport lumbers by sledding.
People use snow as insulation for storing vegetables and as fields for sledding and skiing. Ski industries have been growing quickly since the middle of 1960's by developing and improving ski grounds, facilities, and accomodations in this area and by increasing numbers of trains on Oito-Line, Eastern Japanese Railways. As a result, industries and structures of population in this area have greatly changed.
(3) It is recongnized that some cultures have been spread into this Kita-Azumi area from Toyama and Niigata prefectures. Technology of production such as Ecchu-Shibari (a way of bundling up harvested rice straws) and the way of making a charcoal kiln and life styles such as tree fences for wind breaking are spread from Toyama Prefecture. On the other hand, cultures for food such as Sasa-Zushi and Sasa-Dango (a kind of regional Sushi and dumpling wrapped by dwarf bamboo leaves) and Iwashino-Tsukedome (a salted sardine for preserving), a way of building houses protecting heavy snow cover and some technology of manufacturing sleds and skies are spread from Niigata Prefecture.
Because of same natural environment of deep snow, the characterized local culture of this Kita-Azumi area was created by cultural interchange to Niigata Prefecture. Especially, in the settlements of Oami Todo and Yokokawa, Kita-Otari districts, Otari Village, which are located very close to the boundary to Niigata Prefecture, there are very strong effects of the Echigo (Niigata Prefecture) Culture.

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The author intend to consider the characteristics of the local culture in Suwa area from the viewpoints of analyzing Minka (the residences of farmers), traditional events and vegetables in the cold highland.
The results of this study are summarized as follows;
(1) The climatic characteristics of Suwa area are severe coldness and strong wind in winter because it locates in the cold highland. For these reasons, there are many ideas such as Yukigaki (taxaceous tree fences for windbreak) and Nurume (a ditch for paddy rice fields to warm up irrigational water) to prevent its coldness everywhere in this area. On the other hand, there many localized industries such as producing Kanten (agar-agar) and Kori-tofu and -mochi (frozen and dried tofu and glutinous rice cake) which exploit severe coldness. These industries are developed in the settlements of the upland and of the eastern foot of the mountain slopes where the sun sets very early in the evening.
(2) There are some more landscapes peculiar to cold climate like this Suwa area. The structures such as Tategurumi (the way of building Minka: the storehouse is built in the main building), Teppei-seki yane (tiles of the roofs are made of plates of (two-pyroxene-andesite) and Ohnoki-zukuri (the building with long eaves) are rational ways of building the Minka under the climate like Suwa area. Traditional vegetables such as Ueno-daikon (a kind of radish) and Suwa-benikabu (a kind of turnip) have been cropped for making pickles with cold resistance to cross over winter. Traditional festivals and events associated with Suwa-Shinko (the faith in the Suwa Shrine) penetrate into the people's life of this area.
(3) It is recognized that are four types of settlements which preserve traditional cultures very well in this area. The first type of the settlements are located in the foot of high mountains; Sasahara and Kami-Tsukinoki, Chino City and Ueno, Suwa City. The second type are located far from the main road; Kami-Futta and Ohsawa, Chino City and Sendatsu, Fujimi Town. The third ones have common forest owned by Zaisan-ku or Buraku-ku (small terrestrial groups); Toyoda, Konan and Shiga, Suwa City, Higashi-Yamada, Shimo-Suwa Town, Oikawa and Misawa, Okaya City, Miyagawa and Tamagawa, Chino City and Okkoto, Fujimi Town. The fourth type of the settlements have the priginal hot spring; Kowata, Suwa City. Peoples in the settlements of last two types have strong solidarity of a rural community to take over their cultures because the groups have comonm properties.
The Suwa Culture tends to flow into the Kami-Ina area, where belongs the same drainage of Suwa Lake and Tenryu River. Hewever, it is hard to flow into Yamanashi Prefecture.

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