CHANGES OF THE CHICHIBU DISTRICT CAUSED BY CONSTRUCTION OF PRIVATE RAILWAY

Abstract

This paper is aimed at analysis of regional changes caused by intrusion of a private railway through the case of the Chichibu district, Saitama Prefecture, where the Chichibu line of the Seibu Railway Company, one of the largest private railway companies, was constructed in October of 1969. In pursuing the theme, it is rather difficult to determine adequate indices for analizing regional changes, so that the study was started with sound-ing objectives of construction of the new line. As the author discussed previously, the railway companies usually transact not only transportation services, but the greater parts of the tertiary sector such as tourism, amusement, commerce and real estates. In case of the Chichibu line, the company planned to develop tourism and limestone quarrying of the area. As to the first point, the railway company purchased an extensive tract of land in the west of Chichibu City, but the area shows little change in outlook (Fig. 3). The railway also established a recreational fruit orchard for tourists, namely Ashigakubo Kaju Koen Mura in partner-ship with the Yokose Agricultural Cooperative Association and the local inhabitants (Fig. 4). As a result, most of the farm land in Ashigakubo area which usid to be planted with mulberry or vegitable was changed into a fruit orchards. On the other hand, for development of limestone industry, the Mitsubishi Cement Company founded a new plant in Yokose village. However, having been made almost fully automatic and acquired skilled laborers from the Kita-Kyushu Plant of the company, this plant absorbed only a small numbers of local inhabitants as its employees. Generally speaking the Chichibu district is on the process of modification to be market for the private railway and the cement manifacturering firm as the result of construction of the Chichibu line.