著者

浜根 知恵/大野 順子 大野 順子

出版者

桃山学院大学

雑誌

桃山学院大学人間科学 (ISSN:09170227)

巻号頁・発行日

no.43, pp.121-143, 2012-11-21

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The pioneering activities on the Hojyo Dunes, Tottori Prefecture, came about due to the abundant cultivation of cotton and colza that took place during the Edo period. This changed to the cultivation of mulberry with the advent of the Meiji period because of the importation of cotton from foreign countries. This Dune area was irrigated using a small artificial pond known as the beach well and it was used to draw up subterranean water it came to be called the "Wife-killer beach well" because of the intense labor it required. In the 1950's the government provided this area with irrigation facilities. With these government sponsored policies and advances in farming technologies it became possible to cultivate items such as grapes, tomatoes, melons, eddo potatoes and leeks that could be used to make monetary profit in the market in addition to more traditional crops of sweet potatoes, shallots and watermelons. Farming in this desert area, which demanded that fields be treated with artificial measures due the lack of water created a state of affairs where there had to be a switchover to growing crops that were profitable and in demand in the marketplace along with the implementation of modern irrigation techniques. This resulted in advancing cooperation simultaneous with the development of large scale management that exceeded the range of the then existent traditional community. And thus, with the introduction of modern irrigation facilities along with the elimination of excessive labor connected with the Wife-killer beach well, we also see the development of communal farming and the sharing of production and distribution activities in the area and other areas as well as the advancement of usage regulations involving water used for agricultural purposes. With this, there also rapidly came into existence, a large-scale form of agricultural management concerned with the renting and leasing of land.