Mountain Land Use in Northern Japan

Abstract

T HE rural mountain settlements ofJapan, buraku,' generally are poorer, and operate under more restrictive natural and social conditions, than their lowland counterparts. Although farming is the dominant economic pursuit, it suffers from the limits imposed by terrain and climate, the low level of farming skills, and the isolation from outside markets. Subsistence crops are the rule, and even when cash crops are cultivated, they bring small financial reward for inordinate amounts of hard work. The shortcomings of farming, aggravated by the absence of industry other than simple handicrafts, have led to dependence on the mountain forests for cash income. Some mountain households also carry on small-scale stock raising on the basis of local forage supplies and of the steady market for draft animals in lowland farming districts. This distinctive land-use system derives in part from the obvious limitations of the mountain resource base. But, of equal importance, it derives also from a prevailing conservatism, the heavy weight of favored groups in buraku economic affairs, and the observance of time-honored customs. An awareness of the combined impact of natural and social forces is essential for a geographical analysis of the mountain land-use system because it helps to explain both why certain practices prevail and why they are handed down from one generation to the next with little modification. The northern Kitakami Mountains, in northeastern Honshu, are used in this study as a datum area for the description and analysis of mountain land use in some detail. These mountains have an unenviable reputation as one ofJapan's poorest and economically most retarded areas. Hence the land-use practices and living standards described here can be considered a base level