Page 145 - Changing Living Spaces

Utilization of Grass and Wood in Common-Use Imperial Land

consistent with the flood control measures that the prefectural assem-
bly was considering at the same time. As a result, the prefecture created
Division 6 and introduced a policy of ‘Forest remediation’, enacting laws
and regulations to this end. In particular, the prefecture was required to
operate the system of conservation forests in accordance with the Forest
Act, which had just come into force, in accordance with the prefecture’s
circumstances. The prefecture also made efforts to promote this policy by
publishing it for the public.
The Survey Report on the Midai River water source included in the con-
servation forest revealed the cost of flood damage, area of water sources,
forest condition of CILs, BIe income, conservation and supervision reg-
ulations, and the amount and area of sanrin resources used. Technologies
such as planimeters were used, actual conditions were detailed through
interviews with residents, and the necessary quantitative information
was compiled. These results convincingly demonstrated to BIe that man-
agement of the CIL had been practically neglected. For the residents, the
36-hamlet CIL, which was in a state of disrepair, was contrasted with the
Ashikura CIL, which was in relatively good condition, and it was shown
that improvements could be made through resident innovation, such as
coppiced forests called karitate-rin. At the same time, it was suggested
that, given the labour required to do this, it would make more sense to
purchase alternative fertilizers than to collect karishiki or grass, which
would cause devastation.
Based on the data contained in the report, the 36-hamlet CIL had 28
percent grassy mountains and 64 percent degraded deciduous broadleaf
forests. Ashikura CIL, on the other hand, had 10 percent grassy moun-
tains and 48 percent degraded broadleaf forest. Compared to Mizumoto’s
(2003) study of Iida in Nagano in the early modern period, the 36-ham-
let CIL had a higher percentage of grassy mountains and deciduous
broadleaf forests, while the Ashikura CIL may have had a similar per-
centage. Vegetation such as planted forests and karitate-rin showed char-
acteristics of the middle Meiji period. In addition, rice paddies received
204 kan per 0.1 cho of karishiki, fields received 198 kan per 0.1 cho of grass,
and nurseries received 50 kan per 0.1 cho of karishiki (table 6). These inputs
were less than half those found by Tokoro (Fujita 1995). However, the av-
erage percentage of arable land with karishiki or grass from the 36-hamlet
CIL ranged from 40-60 percent. It is quite possible that they were mixed
with other fertilizers, so it would not be surprising if the amount of kari-
shiki and grass decreased compared to the early modern period. According

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