The Changes of Cultivated Land in Hidaka District, Hokkaido

Abstract

The author investigated the changing phases of the relationships between the changes of cultivated land and land conditions in Hidaka district. As the results, the process of changes of cultivated land in this district is classified into four stages :(1) The first stage 1868-1920 The exploitation of this area was almost over by about 1910. In the years around 1920 almost all the alluvial plains and valley floors were cultivated, except the peat lands and floodplains.(2) The second stage 1921-1945 After the establishment of the Irrigation Associations, the acreage of paddy fields increased rapidly in this area. After 1937 the total acreage of cultivated land decreased under the condition of War.(3) The thrid stage 1946-1960 After World War II, the unfavorable lands such as flat lands in the upper reaches of streams and hilly lands were cultivated under the government policy for urgent land development. The total acreage of the cultivated land has been increasing.(4) The fourth stage 1961- The acreage of rice fields is steadily increasing by the new reclamation or the conversion from dry fields. In Shizunai and Urakawa districts, however, some of the paddy fields in the alluvial plains were turned to the grasslands by farmers raising race horses.