A Criticism of rhe Former Explanation of the Movement of the Villages in Kujukuri-Hama Coastal Region

Abstract

The explanation which the village itself moved is generally recognized about the movement of the villages in Kujukuri-Hama coastal region, Boso Peninsula. That is, in this region the villages consist of three types, the Furumura village which was situated on the hill, the Shinden village and the Naya village, and they are different from each other in the time of the establishment, so that the Furumura village was established in the middle ages, the Shinden village was established by the middle of the modern ages and the Naya village was established in the last time of the modern ages, one hundred and several decades ago. In the history of those establishments the villages have the relationship with each other, which the Furumura village cultivated the Shinden and there the Shinden Village was established afresh, and moreover both the Furumura village and the Shinden village moved to the Naya village. In this paper, the new materials which were unable to be pointed out in the former explanation are reported, based on our investigation of the villages. It is as follows. In the history of the sardine fishery along. Kujukuri-Hama coast since the begining of the modern ages, 5 heavy catch periods of the sardine fishery and 5 poor catch periods of it between the heavy catch periods are found. Through its history the Naya village was formed at the 2nd heavy catch period of the sardine fishery, 300 years ago and thereafter it was forced to move to the place nearer the coast by the Shinden village at the following 2nd poor catch time and at the same time the Shinden village developed at the former trace of the moved Naya village. Such movement of the Naya village may be explained by such way that the Naya village itself moved from the former site to the later site. On the other hand, the Naya village greatly developed at the 3rd and 4th heavy catch periods of the sardine fishery and has got the present form. This development of the Naya village is owing to the movement of the villagers from the Furumura village and the Shinden village at the latter period of the modern ages. This development of the Naya village is mostly unable to be explained by the movement of the village itself, but by the movement of the villagers which means not only the movement of the number of the villagers but the movement of the social combination of the village community. Thus, the villages along Kujukuri-Hama coast have got the present form, repeating the changes that they changed into the fishery village at the heavy catch period of the sardine fishery and changed into the farm village at the poor catoh period. © 1959, The Human Geographical Society of Japan. All rights reserved.