Vol.62 No.4 (2010)
Contents
Article
WANG Dai
Development of Large Scale Tenant Farming in China: A Case Study of Gaoyang County, Hebei Province 1
Review
HANZAWA Seiji
An Examination of the Agglomeration Economies Reinforcing Creativity in the Cultural Industry 20
Reserch Notes
TSUKAMOTO Ryohei
Structural Changes and the Factors Related to the Survival of Industrial Regions: A Case Study of the Glove-Making Industry in Higashi-Kagawa, Kagawa Prefecture 40
HASEGAWA Shogo
Places in 18th Century Kyoto and Their Representations: An Analysis of the Miyako Meishozue 60
Meeting Reports
268th Regular Meeting 78
269th Regular Meeting 81
270th Regular Meeting 83
17th Research Seminar of Educatin of Geography Study Group 85
119th Research Seminar of Historical Geography Study Group 90
35th Research Seminar of Metropolitan Area Study Group 93
News 95
Annual Meeting 2010 Program 97
Abstracts
Development of Large Scale Tenant Farming in China: A Case Study of Gaoyang County, Hebei Province
WANG Dai
Key Laboratory of Regional Sustainable Development Modeling, Institute of Geographical Sciences and
Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Family management of agriculture by utilizing scattered farmland on a small scale is one of the main characteristics of modern agriculture in China. It is also normally considered as one important factor that hinders the increase of agricultural productivity. The Chinese government started to implement the Structural Adjustment of Agriculture in the year 1999. Under the Structural Adjustment of Agriculture, development of large scale agricultural management was facilitated by the government through policy support.
This study is based on an investigation and analysis of the cotton producing regions in Gaoyang County, Hebei Province. In particular, an analysis of the business evolution of L Farm Enterprise was made as an example of a pioneer in large scale cotton production in Gaoyang County. The purpose of this study is to clarify the process and trend of large scale agricultural management development under the Structural Adjustment of Agriculture. In addition, challenges facing the sustainable development of Chinese agriculture are also reviewed.
Under the Structural Adjustment of Agriculture, the government of Gaoyang County implemented a series of policies with the purpose of facilitating the development of large scale agricultural management and agricultural systematization. In these circumstances, a small number of farm households and organizations appeared that practice large scale agricultural management through tenanting. In parallel, the development of the cotton textile industry attracted a large amount of farm labor, which caused a reduction in the number of farm households doing labor intensive cotton production. As a result, a small number of large scale farm households and organizations replaced a number of small scale farm households and become the pillar of cotton production in Gaoyang County.
With the expansion of cotton production, farmland available for large scale cotton production was began to decline. In these circumstances, a small number of large scale farm households started to expand cotton production through tenanting in areas other than Gaoyang County, and kept only the high value added agricultural sector in Gaoyang County. Thus it is expected that the role of Gaoyang County in the Chinese domestic cotton supply system will change in the future.
Through investigation of L Farm Enterprise, it was discovered that various complicated problems are facing large scale agricultural management. L Farm Enterprise tried to avoid or overcome negative factors in order to maintain stable incomes. In parallel, it expanded the planted areas and applied a strategy aimed at the diversification of business. But when facing similar problems, most farm households don’t have enough capital to expand their farming area through tenanting and hiring labor, thus they are hardly able to realize large scale agricultural management.
Based on the above phenomena, the last part of this thesis analyzed the loss of farming labor and the centralization of farmland. It is an important way to promote the large scale agricultural management in order to realize the sustainable development of Chinese agriculture. In parallel, efforts should also be taken to create an environment that encourages stability and growth in earnings for small scale agricultural management.
Key words: Structural Adjustment of Agriculture; large scale tenant farming; cotton production; Gaoyang County, Hebei Province; China
An Examination of the Agglomeration Economies Reinforcing Creativity in the Cultural Industry
HANZAWA Seiji
Meiji Gakuin University
The recent rise of the cultural industry, resulting from the continuous economic growth in the world economy, and the increasing diversification of media has attracted enormous academic attention. However, most researchers have underestimated the nature and importance of uncertainty in the cultural industry.
It has been recognized that in the cultural industry there are conflicts between distribution and production sectors caused by their different objectives: the former pursues economic profits, whereas the latter set a high value on creation itself. On the basis of this notion, this article scrutinizes the factors of agglomeration in the production sector which produces cultural products.
The agglomeration mechanisms of the cultural industry have been discussed from these points of view: the convenience for production attained by the proximity of firms and/or specialists; flexible specialization to deal with the uncertainty of the market and the industry; the environments preferred by creative workers, and the cultures and the institutions that stimulate their creativity. These studies, however, have rarely shed light on the following points: （1） that “production” in the cultural industry is an R&D activity that emphasizes cultural values; （2） the importance of the production process; （3） the fact that highly creative cultural products do not always lead to good sales.
Therefore, this article analyzes the conditions under which “creative innovation” for the cultural industry can be achieved by a close examination of previous studies on innovation, creativity, knowledge, and agglomeration. The growth of the cultural industry arises from the worldwide penetration of aesthetic reflexivity, which virtually makes it impossible for providers of cultural products to predict and grasp the behavior of consumers. In the cultural industry there is a high level of uncertainty and it is creativity, not efficiency achieved through imitation, that increases the commercial value of cultural products; therefore the “learning” concept, which considers the diffusion of “best practices” as agglomeration economies, is an inappropriate method of analysis. Additionally, aesthetic reflexivity also requires the value of certain knowledge to be judged in the knowledge creation process by inputting cultural products into the market. To release cultural products in which this knowledge is embodied requires great cost because most of these products are usually unprofitable due to the reflexivity （or uncertainty） of the market. Hence, firms need to have a tolerance for “redundancy” which means an “inevitable inefficiency in the process of producing and selling products.”
The individual firm’s tolerance for redundancy, which is the source of creativity, heavily depends on location and the degree of the distribution sector’s power of control over the industry. On the basis of this notion, a creative place can be defined as one where the tolerance for redundancy can be augmented. It can be concluded, therefore, that an agglomeration is a creative place if the agglomeration economies can strengthen firms’ tolerance for redundancy in which the power relationships between the distribution sector firms and production sector firms do not greatly impair the latter’s creativity.
Key words: cultural industry, industrial agglomeration, innovation, creativity, redundancy
Structural Changes and the Factors Related to the Survival of Industrial Regions: A Case Study of the Glove―Making Industry in Higashi―Kagawa, Kagawa Prefecture
TSUKAMOTO Ryohei
Graduate Student
Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Okayama University
Since the mid―1980s, Japan’s industrial structure has been considerably altered by economic fluctuations. These structural changes have had repercussions for local industry, and in particular for modern local industries in provincial areas. However, in recent years, research on local industries has been declining and has been insufficient. This paper examines the glove―making industry in the Higashi―Kagawa region, Kagawa Prefecture, which prospered due to the mass production and export of gloves during Japan’s rapid economic growth period. The author examined the factors behind the industry’s success through the analysis of the following two points: （1） the structural changes in the production and distribution system after the rapid economic growth period; and （2） business activities of each company after the same period.
In the Higashi―Kagawa region, dynamic changes such as transfers of manufacturing functions overseas, growth of high value―added production, and expansion of glove―related products, have been ongoing since the 1950s. There were also some social and economic reasons （e. g. the Nixon shock, oil crises, and the increase in consumer demand for high―fashion gloves） behind these changes. Today, the scale of domestic production, characterized by the division of labor, in the region has declined, and overseas production now plays a large part. At the same time, the relationships between companies in the region and with companies in other regions has become stronger in the planning and development phases of new products. Therefore, interregional divisions of labor within a company, and with companies located in other regions, have been developed, along with an individualization of business behavior by each company as it takes steps to suite its economic circumstances. It seems that the Higashi―Kagawa region lacks unity and function as an industrial region.
However, the results of the survey show that companies benefit from agglomeration economies, through for example, （1） accumulated technology and know―how, （2） a pool of skilled labor, （3） ease of raw material procurement, and （4） ease of information exchange within the industrial region. Moreover, the survey revealed the presence of “trust” and a strong reputation created through a long history of glove―making in the region, and this gives an intangible value to the companies in the region. This has been rarely noted in existing research. Therefore, the author believes that this may be one driving force in the survival of the industry in the Higashi―Kagawa region.
Key words: local industry, structure of production and distribution, factors in maintaining industrial regions, glove―making industry, Higashi―Kagawa
Places in 18th Century Kyoto and Their Representations: An Analysis of the Miyako Meishozue
HASEGAWA Shogo
Graduate Student, Kobe University
This study concerns famous places appearing in the Miyako Meishozue （An Illustrated Guide to Noted Places in the Capital）, the spatial construction involved in the illustrations contained therein, and the image Akizato Rit, the editor of the work, sought to convey. Were 4,000 copies printed, as Takizawa Bakin asserts in his Ibun zakk? A study of the illustrations contained in the Miyako Meishozue was conducted concerning these points.
First, the author focused on the third and fourth points made in the introductory notes to the text, which state that the human figures drawn in the spaces are to the given scale. Five types of scales were used: distant views, middle distance views, close―range views, views of pleasure spots, and views without human figures.
The spatial construction of the middle distance views made an objective spatial grasp of the entire space possible. The spatial construction of the close―range views enabled a subjective appreciation of the activities and details of the area. The depictions of pleasure spots were used for places related to the performing arts, and may be the places that generated the image of pleasure spots of the capital depicted in early modern genre paintings.
Concerning the illustrations in the text, having compared them to Nakagawa Kiun’s Ky warabe and Miyako Meishozue, and Kanaya Heiemon’s Hei karaku saikenzu, it can be pointed out that the subjective and explanatory illustrations inserted in the texts over time may have shifted in their composition to an objective spatial understanding.
The fact that the Miyako Meishozue introduced the noted places of 18th century Kyoto and the popular customs of the capital using compositions differing in their objective spatial grasp and explanatory expressions may be a factor in the number of published copies that was attained.
Keywords：18th century Kyoto, guidebook, Akizato Rit, Miyako Meishozue, meisho, spatial models