The Villages on the Lower Shinano Basin and their Farm Improvement Projects

Abstract

The lower Shinano basin in Niigata prefecture is one of the main rice-producing regions in Japan, with the highest rice productivity, which results mostly from the remarkable development of water control and farm improvement. The present writer aims at the geographical study of farm improvement, mainly on the western Kanbara plain in this basin.Before the development of water control and farm improvement, rice production was unstable in wet paddy field under the frequent flood damages and the incomplete drainage conditions (Fig. 1). This plain was newly reclaimed from the alluvial plain with many lagoons and paddy-fields had been only partly developed till modern times. As a new region for the arable land, there was the characteristic social relationship between landowners and tenants; the rich owned high, good-conditioned paddy fields and the poor possessed remote, bad-conditioned paddy field (Table 2, Fig. 2). Land-allotment was carried out for the constant farm rent and for the equal share of the flood damage. After the allotment system disappeared in Meji Era, dispersed fields were rarely re-adjusted, as the case in Europe after the disolution of open field system (Fig. 3). The final aim of the farm improvement began since 1900's in this region is to stabilze such unstable land condition and to consolidate holdings towards rationalization in agriculture.The improvement process is seen geographically and historically as follow; along the Nishi river in Meiji and Taisho Eras, and a long the Shin river (in Shimogo section) and the Odori river (in Kamigo section) in Showa Era especially after the agricultural reformation, with the financial aid from the government in parallel with drainage and irrigation projects. Some areas remains unimproved in Kamigo section because of the sectional struggle for the water interest between Kamigo and Shimogo sections and because of the delay in the drainage and irrigation projects. The farm improvement in this region depends upon the condition of irrigation and drainage, and the investment from the government, owners and/or cultivators (Fig. 4, 5).From the point of farm improvement, the following four types of areas are pointed out; (a) Unimproved area, with horiage-den fields, remarkably dispersed, inconveniently irrigated and drained (Fig. 6, Photo. 1). (b) Improved area in Meiji Era, re-arranged rhombic-shaped, with the result of inconvenient agricultural working (Fig. 7). (c) Re-improved area for the modernization of agriculture, such as the rationalization of water use and the improvement of farm road (Fig. 8, 9). (d) Rationally improved area, upon the basis of 20a division adjustment, for the consolidation of holding, with the introduction of tractors (i.e. Lanz) (Fig. 10, Photo. 2). The future farm improvement will be developed into two directions from (a) to (d), and from (b) to (c).