Page 178 - Changing Living Spaces

Noriko Yuzawa

in the region as a whole. In particular, the linkage to the market econo-
my through fertilizers and the entry into land-intensive agriculture as
part of modern Japanese agriculture are noteworthy as major structural
changes in the material cycle linking the soil and the dining table.
As for urban areas, cities in Japan developed in the nineteenth and
twentieth centuries and experienced rapid population growth during
the Industrial Revolution. While demand for food increased and agricul-
ture flourished, the disposal of human sewage in cities became a problem.
Accordingly, Japan experienced a major structural shift in material cycles
in both rural and urban areas in this.
This study discusses the structure of the material cycle of fertilizers
from the perspectives of agricultural and economic history, using Aichi
Prefecture as a case study. In particular, we focus on Nagoya, which un-
derwent remarkable urbanization, and the farming villages on the out-
skirts of the city, which played a role in supplying food to the city. Aichi
Prefecture was selected because it experienced a notable increase in in-
dustrial production in modern times, while becoming one of the coun-
try’s leading agricultural production areas. It has both agricultural and
industrial characteristics.
In the following sections, we discuss the development of agriculture
and changes in fertilizer use in Aichi Prefecture (Section 2). In particular,
we examine the actual status of the use of night soil as a valuable materi-
al in terms of the relationship between urban areas (Nagoya) and subur-
ban farming villages. Next, we clarify the state of urbanization in Aichi
Prefecture from the Taisho period to the early Showa period and describe
the problem of human waste disposal, which became an urban problem
due to population growth (Section 3). Using Nagoya administrative docu-
ments, we focus on the history of attempts to municipalize human waste
disposal. Finally, we discuss and summarize the structural changes in the
material cycle between rural and urban areas (Section 4).
Agricultural Development and Fertilizer Consumption in Aichi
Prefecture in the Early Twentieth Century
Urbanization, Industrialization and Rural Areas in Modern Aichi
Prefecture
Agriculture in Aichi Prefecture underwent significant changes in the
twentieth century. The first factor was the shift to commercial agricul-
ture for vegetable and fruit crops and livestock (including poultry) due to

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