A hypothesis was adopted through findings obtained through analysis in the Kanto and Tokai Regions, that tangible folklore cultural assets became a driving force in building communities and developing unique human resources in Japan. Cultural assets began disappearing from people’s daily life during the era of rapid economic growth. Japan’s industrial and social conditions changed dramatically, thus effecting people’s lifestyles. Tangible folklore cultural assets, which existed in communities, were instrumental in forming the identity of these communities. The area covered by a 2011 study of the Kanto Region, which includes the Tokyo Metropolitan area, shows the effects on the lifestyle of the communities to be very prominent, due to urbanization of the area.
The latest survey also included a field trip to the Seto-uchi Region in Western Japan. The results from this survey showed that the devices and tools manufactured there around the Meiji period were mainly used during the Meiji, Taisho and Showa periods. However, the tools and religious devices manufactured in the region during the Edo period were not used until after the end of World War II. This was not the cases for the Kanto （2011） and Tokai regions （2012）. It was also found that the cultural assets in the Seto-uchi region continued to be used until the latter half of the era, when there was rapid economic growth, a finding also seen in the surveys in the Kanto and Tokai Regions. In all the regions, people effectively stopped using the devices in the latter half of the eras, because of the downturn in economic growth. However, it was found that the assets were used longer in the Seto-uchi region. Long-standing use covering the Edo period to the second half of the Showa period was seen in many devices and tools manufactured in the Tokai Region. However, devices used for a long time in the Seto-uchi Region were basically limited to manufacturing instruments, providing products for entertainment, leisure and amusement.
JEL Classification:H54, R51, R53, Z11
抄録全体を表示