A CHARACTERISTIC PATTERN OF INDUSTRIAL LAND USE IN KOTO DISTRICT, TOKYO, AND THE HISTORY OF ITS ESTABLISHMENT

Abstract

Recently we have been concerned with some patterns of the industrial land use and the history of its establishment. For specific study, the writer selected Koto district, Tokyo, which is the triangular low land surrounded by two rivers and the sea and consists of Koto and Sumida wards. There are 8, 559 factories located with over 4 workers in each and 128, 352 workers are employed in those factories. To Proceed with this study, the writer made use of two approaches. The first is to divide Koto district into some industrial sections, and the second, to trace the history of such a pattern consisting of the sections. To see the distribution of manufacturing, a new measure is proposed in this paper. This measure starts with the evident tendency of factories to congregate to certain parts of an area. This tendency means the existing of the attraction for factories. The writer called it industrial concentration potential. This concept is analogous to population potential and market potential, as proposed and mapped by John Q. Stewart and Chancy D. Harris respectively. The industrial concentration potential at a point (A) is defined as the summation (Σ) of the attraction at the same point (P0) multiplied by the respective attraction at other points (P), and divided by their distance from those points (d). A=P0ΣP/d In this case a attraction index was provided by the number of workers which represents industrial productivity. On the basis of the values computated by means of the above formula, lines of equal industrial concentration potential are drawn on a map. Three major varieties of industrial sections may be differentiated on the map. Those are Honjyo-Fukagawa, Jyoto and Mukojima sections which are characterized respectively by the heavy, light and miscellaneous industries. a) Before the Meiji Restoration (1868), Honjyo-Fukagawa section had already developed into a residential district partly including commercially used land, the great part of which was the property of temples and the military caste. By the political change of the restoration, this property was turnedd over to civilians, and downtown establishments gradually clustered there. Small household industries grew up and then light industry was established after the Sino-Japanese War (1894-95). b) Jyoto section still remainded as agricultural land untill the begining of Meiji era. This section provided large sites for manifacturing uses at cheap price and had great facility for water transportation. so heavy industry was located here after the Russo-Japanese War (1904) and more remarkable after the great Kanto Earthquake (1923). c) Mukojima section as the outskirts of this entire area, as well as Tokyo, has become a more inferior residential section since the middle of Meiji era. This section also has been densely covered by a great many small plants which are located here on the basis of the low standard of living and cheap labor.