著者

古田 充宏

出版者

地理科学学会

雑誌

地理科学 (ISSN:02864886)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.42, no.2, pp.96-112, 1987-05

被引用文献数

5

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The purpose of this paper is to clarify the changes of the land use of mountain inhabitants from the Meiji era (1868 - 1912), and to describe their environmental recognition to the dynamic changes of land use, considering an interactive processes on how the drastic changes in the land uses are related with environmental recognition on a rural scene. An investigation was conducted at Nasu in Togouchi-cho. Hiroshima Prefecture in 1985. Firstly the author has begun on a collection of the place names from the old people by interview and tried to understand the environmental recognition of the villagers. Changes in land use were ecologically analized from the viewpoint of reciprocal relationships between villagers and natural environment. Drastic changes in their traditional works, and in the distribution of large wild mammals and changes of transportation system around Nasu were discussed. The findings are as follows : Before World War II, the people had various works, which have been largely dependent on broadleaf deciduous trees. Since around 1950, the virgin broadleaf deciduous trees have been chiefly replaced by Japanese cedar trees (Cryptomeria japonica) through afforeststion. As a result, traditional works have generally disappered except cultivation in lenaru (fields around the houses) and afforestation. Wasabi (Wasabia japonica) fields, for example, which are necessary to be surrounded by broadleaf deciduous trees have disappered. Viewing from environmental recognition, villagers' spatial classification of the mountain area, such as Miyama (remote and dense forest) and Naruyama (forests near around the village), has not been available in present daily life. Especialy, the space called Miyama has disappeared. Villagers have long cherished an awful feeling to the nature. However, with the progress of modernization of rural areas, traditional recognition such as above mentioned have been weakened. As a result, reckless overcutting of woods on a steep slopes has caused successive debris flows and the natural hazard has been accelerated to some extent. Drastic changes in fuel use, that are closely related to remarkable economic development in Japan, have changed forest and land use. Such changes have influenced the vegetation and stimulated breeding system of wild boars(Sus scrofa leumystax). Under these situations, a striking outflow of the population has remark-ably increased. The increase of the damage by wild boars into mountain fields has also become one of the causes that bring about afforestation of them. In short, their various works have disappeared as a result of changes of their land use, which is largely influenced by the great consumption for the forest resources in cities or depopulation caused by the change of the regional structure in the Ota Basin.