Exploitation at the Foot of Mt. Iwaki

Abstract

It is after the end of the Great World War II that exploitation of land had been remarkably carried out at the bottoms of volcanic mountains where extensive plain spread out at their skirts. Generally speaking, there is more belated in land exploitation than other districts owing to its geographic figure, climates and soils. However hither to unavailed left as deserted place for a long time, it is considered on the other side that it has an important significance for the village life serving as the sphere of meadow land and felling of firewood and charcoals. Or it might be rather taken for a requisite area for the village life. Moreover, considering together of the fact some parts of it had been scheduled as the object of exploitation of the Shinden (newly reclaimed field), it is to be putted in mind that we should not neglect the histrico-geographical studies concerning the bottom area of volcanic mountain. From this point of view, the author here deals with the theme of exploitation at the foot of Mt. Iwaki as well as at the area of river Iwaki. In its proceeding it will be touched upon the backwardness in land exploitation at the bottom area of volcanic mountain. However, in that case, I think that it should be treated, not as a separate study on the subject of the utility of forest and lands at the skirt of the volcanic mountains, but as a systematic comprehension of these two coordinated areas with reference to the alluvial plain where exploitation of the Shinden had been energetically forwarded.This is summimg up:1) In the Hirosaki clan they had actively exploded the Shinden at the district centering the Tsugaru plain. In the era of Bunroku and Kan'ei (1592/1596-1624/1643) exploitation was developed according to the system of vassalage (ko-chigyo-ha dachi) in making irrigation from the middle-river of Iwaki by constructing weirs at its plain and watering from reservoirs at Tsugaru hilly country as well as from those which were built alongside of northern foot of Mt. Iwaki.2) In the eras of Kanbun and Genbun (1611/1672-1736/1740) the Shinden exploitation was furthered at the low swamps land of the Iwaki lower stream after the “Okura-hadachi” system in setting up of reservoirs and drainages on a large scale.3) From the era of Genbun to the era of Bunsei (1736/1740-1827/1829) the exploitation front reached Lake Juhsan.4) In the Tsugaru district there often turned out bad harvest, “failure of crops” as they called it, due to cold weather and innundations. It brought about devastation of many fields. Therefore, special care was also payed to countermeasure against them at the exploitation of Shinden. Types of Shinden are following: Shinden exploitated by retainers (Vassalage), “Shinden constructed by the clan” (Okura-hadachi) and “Shinden operated by the clan” (Kirizoe-shinden) etc.5) The output of Shinden crops increased from 230, 400 US bushels (45, 000 goku) in the era of Bunroku 1st (1577) to 1, 626, 280 US bushels (317, 633 goku) in the era of Keio 4th (1868). But this is only the nominal yield recorded in the village register. In the Hirosaki clan there must have been a considerably more yield which were kept out of the village register. They say that it was surmised 2, 560, 000 US bushels (500, 000 goku) in the era of Enpoh 4th (1676), 4, 710, 400 US bushels (920, 000 goku) in the era of An'ei 6th (1771), 3, 686, 400 US bushels (720, 000 goku) in the era of Ansei 1st (1854). That may be why there were many veiled fields not enumerated in the village register.6) With the advance of the Shinden exploitation there could not be found any phenomena of devastation of old fields. We think that this was caused from the fact that there were less percentage of the registered yield than that of the unregistered in the total yield.