The Formation and Diffusion of the Folk Cultures in Chugoku Mountains

我做这项研究是为了通过调查民间文化的现状和分布，来分析中国中部地区的地域特征。研究对象是岛根县、鸟取县、冈山县、广岛市的合并地区。尽管出云、后木、比楚、宾果这些地区自古以来都有各自独立的文化传统，但我们可以从整体上证实这一地区的民间文化具有很强的相似性。我们可以举出很多跨县通婚的例子。这个地区的大多数村庄都有几个来自其他地区的家庭。我们可以指出，Koujin崇拜是最显著的宗教习俗。它显示了当地的变化，尽管它在Chugoku山脉周围蔓延。在广岛和冈山地区，许多Koujins被当作村社部分的神来崇拜，而在冈山、鸟取和岛根县，他们是看守牛的神。绿肥对于管理Chugoku山脉的水田是必不可少的，而共有的森林可以为水田和牛提供草。草场与牧场相结合也是这一地区的特色习俗。牧场的所有制类型分为村共有林和私有林。后者是一种利用形式，我们可以追溯到用于tatara的山区，即传统的铁制造。

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.