The Formation and Diffusion of the Folk Cultures in Chugoku Mountains

本研究以岛根县、鸟取县、冈山县、广岛县为研究对象，通过调查民间文化的现状和分布，分析中国中山的地域特征。虽然出云、厚岐、备中、宾果的各个地区自古以来都有自己独特的文化传统，但从整体上来看，我们可以证实这一地区的民间文化具有很强的相似性。我们可以提到许多跨县边界的通婚。而在这一地区的村落中，绝大多数都有几个来自其他地区的家族，我们可以将口神崇拜作为最显著的宗教习俗来加以指出。它显示了当地的变化，尽管它遍布中国山脉。在广岛和冈山地区，许多koujin被当作村社部分的神来崇拜，而在冈山、鸟取和岛根地区，他们是守护牛的神。在中国山区，管理稻田必不可少的是绿色肥料，而共同拥有的森林可以为稻田和牛提供草。这也是一个独特的习俗，在这个地区使用的草地领域结合牧场。牧场的所有制类型分为村共有林和私有林。后者是可以追溯到山的利用形式，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.