The Formation and Diffusion of the Folk Cultures in Chugoku Mountains

本研究以岛根县、鸟取县、冈山县和广岛县为研究对象，通过对中部中部山区民俗文化现状和分布的调查，分析中部山区的地域特征。尽管出云、后基、比丘和宾果的各个地区自古以来都有各自不同的文化传统，但我们可以从总体上证明这一地区的民俗文化具有很强的相似性。我们可以提到很多跨县通婚的情况。而这一地区的大多数村庄都有几个来自其他地区的家族。我们可以指出，口金崇拜是最引人注目的宗教习俗。它显示了当地的变化，尽管它分布在中部山区的所有地方。在广岛和冈山地区，许多古晋人被奉为村落社区的神灵，而在冈山、鸟取县和岛根县，他们是守护牛的神。在中部山区，管理稻田必不可少的是绿肥，公有的森林可以用来给稻田和牛提供草。使用草地和牧场相结合也是这个地区的特色习俗。草场的所有制类型分为村共有林和私有林。后者是我们可以追溯到塔塔拉所用的山脉的利用形式，即传统的炼铁。

I have done this research to analyze the regional features of the central Chugoku Mountains through investigating the actual states and distribution of folk cultures.The research subject is an incorporating area of Shimane, Tottori, Okayama, and Hiroshima Prefecture. Even though each parts in Izumo, Houki, Bitchu, and Bingo has its own separate cultural traditions since the ancient times, we can verify the strong similarity of folk cultures over this area on the whole. We can mention lots of inter-marriages over the boundaries of prefectures. And most of villages in this area have a couple of families derived from other regions.We can point out the Koujin worship as the most remarkable religious custom. It shows the local variation, although it spreads out all around the Chugoku Mountains. Many Koujins are worshiped as deities of the section of village communities in Hiroshima and Okayama areas, while they are deities guarding cattle in Okayama, Tottori, and Shimane.Green manure was indispensable to manage paddy fields in the Chugoku Mountains and forests owned in common were available to provide paddy fields and cattle with grass. It is also a characteristic custom over this area to use the grass fields combined with pastures. The ownership types of pastures are divided into forests owned in common by village and privately-owned forests. The latter is the utilizing form which we can trace back to the mountains availed for tatara, that is traditional iron manufacture.