HIGH AND COOL RECLAIMED LAND IN JAPAN—Trend and Basic Fcts—

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  • わが国における高冷開拓地の動向と基礎事実
  • ワガクニ ニ オケル コウレイカイタクチ ノ ドウコウ ト キソ ジジツ

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Abstract

The arable land reclaimed by pioneers in postwar days now amounts to 5% of the nation-wide cultured land acreage and the farmhouses settled there 2% of those of the whole country.<br> What attracts attention first is the disparity of the regional distribution. Generally speaking, the numerical value is greater in the eastern than in the western part of Japan. It is especially noteworthy that Hokkaido and Tohoku districts carry the greatest weight. 70% of the national reclaimed land acreage and 40% of the whole of the settlers' houses are concentrated in those two districts. The western part forms a striking contrast: Kinki district in particular shows very small numerical value regarding both the acreage and the farmhouses, the former 1% and the latter 2.9%. A similar tendency is seen in the regional difference of the acreage under cultivation per house. The average acreage in Hokkaido is 7.77ha, while that in the prefectures around the Inland Sea is less than 1ha.<br> Next, the classification of those farmhouses according to the height above sealevel shows the following rate:<br> 100m and below……41% 100_??_400m……40%<br>400m_??_700m……14% 700m_??_1, 000m……4%<br>1, 000m and over……1%<br> The above list clearly indicates that 95% settled in the region below 700m, 5% over 700m, and only 1% over 1, 000m above sealevel.<br> 1, 000m is the limit value showing the minimum height of “High and Cool Reclaimed Land” which is used as the title of this report. And 700m is the height above sealevel showing the lower limit of semi-“High and Cool Reclaimed Land, ” which is also taken up in this report.<br> The present reporter puts the horizontal north limit of HCRL in the northwestern part of Kanto district. One reason for this is that the height limit of the arable land noticeably decreases toward north with this region as a borderline. Another reason is that the name of “High and Cool Land Agriculture, ” which is characterized by cool weather due to the height above sealevel, should be applied limitedly to the region to the south of the northwestern part of Kanto district.<br> This opinion of the reporter's will be justified by the following fact: the distribution of the settlers over 1, 000m shows a remarkable inclination of their concentration in the region extending from Fukushima prefecture in the southern end of Tohoku district across the northwestern part of Kanto district to Gifu prefecture in Chubu district (97%) . If 700m is taken up as standard, 85% of the national total are concentrated in those seven prefectures.<br> Those marginal zones, which had remained unutilized in prewar days, came to be highlighted for the first time, with a view to tiding over the postwar crisis as a result of the serious food shortage and the rapid increase of the unemployed. The development of national economy and the change of eating habits brought forth the increased demand for dairy products and vegetables, which consequently actualized the potent of HCRL. And this affords a clear proof of the mutability of the condition of location in accord with the development of social economy.<br> HCRL is characterized by (1)the severe natural conditions (climate, topography, soil, etc.), (2)the restrictions by its isolated location, and (3)the large scale management area to make up for the unfavorable condition. HCRL, under its restricted condition, developed commercial farming, with dairy farming and vegetable growing as its principal axis.<br> The present reporter, choosing eight out of the above-mentioned regions where are concentrated HCRL's, made some investigations into their actual situations. The principal forms of management in those regions are also dairy farming, vegetable growing and the mixed of the two.

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