Effects of the oil shock in 1973 which revealed the vulnerability of modern industry in Japan, sparked a reevaluation of‘jiba sangyo’(local industries), which have been shaped by the local capital and labor markets as well as by resources and local traditions in technology.
The study of medium- and small- industries which agglomerate in local areas has been one of the main themes in industial geography since pre-war times. But recently it has been pointed out that most of the existing approaches have been dealing only with industrial systems in themselves and have not been concerned with regional contexts and locative surroundings.
This paper examines the formative process of a local industrial region, referring to the preceding industry and the dispersal routes of a new technique.
The area of investigation is located at the junction of the Yoshino and Takami Rivers in Nara prefecture. The major economic activity in this area had been the production of a traditional Japanese handmade paper from the Edo Period until World War II times. During post-war times the introduction of the technique for making waribashi (splittable chopsticks) made of sugi (Japanese ceder) from Shimoichi Town, which is situated on the north bank downstream along the Yoshino River, gave the first impulse to change to a new industrial region from the traditional Japanese paper making.
Those who went to master the technique of waribashi and brought back to their home area the knowledge and information of this new industry contributed to the change of local economic activity. After that people who did not have special craft techniques could easily engage in waribashi production because an electric machine was invented to ease production. This invention further encouraged the use of hinoki (Japanese cypress) in addition to sugi and the production of various types of waribashi.
From 1960 to 1970, the level of waribashi production in this region stabilized, but nowadays some important problems for the future remain. For example, because factories which are situated at small sites on slopes will not be able to extend their activities, most young people are not attracted to succeed to their parents' waribashi production businesses.
In the face of these problems, the main industrial core is transferring to the flatter and broader areas where factories located later. Hereafter those who are engaged in mass-production of waribashi made of hinoki will hold the key to the continuance and development of this local industrial region.

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