Vol.
73, No.1
Tomohiko TAKAYANAG
Resource control in a regional society: a case study of
Atami spa during the interwar period
This paper studies the historical changes in Atami hot springs during
the interwar period and regional society’s response to changes
in natural conditions of the spa, increase in users, and preservation
of the hot springs, which are a renewable resource. It also focuses
on the hot-springs policy of the local government, which acted as
the regulating authority.
Regulation of Atami’s
hot springs, which were organized under the property ward, became
urgent due to a surge in the number of users and depletion of the
hot springs. The town government assumed joint control and became
solely responsible for management of the central hot springs, in
addition to conducting exclusive development to increase the volume
of spring water, and simultaneously handling allocation of the water.
Three points are discussed
regarding the functions of these town-owned hot springs. First, wasteful
usage of the springs was eliminated, and efficient usage enabled.
Second, by avoiding usage risks, usage of the springs was stabilized.
Third, by realizing "open springs usage," it
became possible for many residents to make use of the springs. With
regard to the Atami hot springs, the regional community adjusted its
use of the town-owned hot springs within the context of administrative
policies and regulations, and, through efficient use of the limited
resource, subsequent development was made possible.
Kensuke HIRAI
The sugar trade in East Asia and Taiwan, 1900-1920s
The purpose of this article is to examine the relationship between
East Asia and Taiwan in the sugar trade during the period between 1900
and the 1920s.
The following two points
are elucidated. First, although the Taiwanese sugar industry was
entirely under Japanese colonial rule, it depended on the East Asian
market. As a result of changes in the East Asian sugar market during
World War I, control of the market by Japanese merchants increased
in the area. They imported Javanese sugar to Japan in surplus, which
made the Japanese sugar market unfavorable for Taiwanese sugar.
Second, the response of
the Taiwanese sugar industry to this unfavorable situation was to
increase production to reduce costs, which in turn influenced the
East Asian market. On the one hand, oversupply of Taiwanese sugar
resulted in the reduction of the export price of Japanese refined
sugar. On the other hand, it made the import of Javanese sugar to
Japan difficult. Therefore, some of the sugar due to the Japanese
market had to be resold in other regions at a loss. The resulting
situation indicates that Taiwanese sugar played an important role
in increasing sugar consumption in the East Asian market.
Hirotaka NAKAYA
The Washington Anglo-American Coal Conference in 1947
and the establishment of the Ruhr coal industry control system
The aim of this article
is to analyze the Washington Anglo-American Coal Conference, which
was the beginning of the process of returning economic sovereignty
to the Germans after World War II. This process was important for both
the postwar reconstruction and integration of Europe.
In the first section, the
plan for a new Ruhr coal industry control system, drawn up by General
Lucius CLAY, commander in chief of OMGUS, is analyzed. A core element
of this plan was to create the U.K.-U.S. Coal Control Group (CCG)
and Deutsche Kohlenbergbauleitung (DKBL). The creation of DKBL meant
especially that the right of management would be returned to the
Germans. Additionally, pre-Coal Conference consultations between
the British and the Americans to ensure the implementation of CLAY's
plan are also examined.
In the second section,
the Washington Coal Conference in August and September 1947 is analyzed,
and the conflicts and reconciliation between the United Kingdom and
the United States are examined. The United Kingdom managed to avoid
severe criticism of its mistakes in occupation policy, while the
United States was able to involve itself in industry policies of
the Ruhr area.
Eventually, the new Ruhr
coal industry control system started in November 1947, and the establishment
of CCG-DKBL as an indirect control system was the first step toward
the return of economic sovereignty to the Germans after World War
II.
Makoto SAKAGUCHI
Fertilizer distribution and the central wholesale merchant
in Tokyo, 1908-1918
The purpose of this article
is to clarify the distribution of fertilizers in the Tokyo market
from 1908 to 1918, from the records of the Tokyo branch of Okumura
Kazo, a central wholesale fertilizer merchant company in Tokyo city.
During this period, this
branch stocked various types of fertilizers, such as fish, imported
bean cake, and chemical fertilizers, for distribution over a wide
area in eastern Japan, mainly in the Kanto district. As direct fish
distribution between fish manure manufacturers and local wholesale
merchants increased, the Tokyo branch of Okumura Kazo shifted its
focus from fish to imported bean cake and chemical fertilizers. This
branch became an exclusive agent of Osaka Alkali, a new entry producer
of superphosphates, and organized local wholesale merchants in eastern
Japan as special agents for this company’s
products. It also started small-scale direct trade in fish wholesale
to local markets by using railway transportation. These findings
indicate that there was a dynamic change in fertilizer distribution
not only in the local markets but also in the central wholesale market
during this period, and the role and function of central wholesale
merchants underwent major changes as well.