島根県中谷集落における就業構造と集落維持システム

The purpose of this paper is to discuss how rural settlements resist against depopulation. The case study area is Nakadani settlement, Kisuki town where locate on the border between depopulated area and non-depopulated area. Kisuki town is in commuting area of some cities. And it is easy for the people to commute between Matsue city and Nakadani settlement. Since 1970, the population of Nakadani settlement gently decreased. However the household number decreased only 1 household during same time. This research reveals the structure how Nakadani settlement keeps population or the number of households.
The following results were obtained in this study.
1) The hole households in Nakadani settlement are classified into some types by the existence of some successors in each households and the age of household members. This result, all hoseholds are classified into four types. With typical type I of being the most, 31 households belong insid 45 households. The type Ia households are so-called three generaions household, this type grasps a key of the reason how sustain this settlement. On the other hand, the successors don't live in this settlement in type III and type IV households. Therefore type III or type IV households have some possibility of disappearance near future.
2) The member of households are engaged in permanent job and get stable income. In general tendency, there are many cases for the people livig in this settlement to be engaged in manufacturing industry or public services, and a little people are engaged in construction industry. Especially for the member of type I households they get special stable type of jobs, which like public services. Against this, the type III and type IV households keep agriculture for self-support. From now on, the income differentials in each households will more and more expand.
3) For the people who live in Kisuki town the opportunity to be engaged in jobs are obtained by commuring to the urban area and to some manufacturing factories inside Kisuki town. There are few small scale factories or the lowest unit as enterprise in Kisuki town. There are some medium scale industries which pay high wages for the employee. Therefore, many people commute to these factories as the permanent employee. And the successors of every household live in their native house by commuting or attending schools to urban area. Then the three generation household are sustained in Nakadani settlement.
In a case of Nakadani settlement, the sustenance of the settlement come true by the sustenance of each households. And the sustenance of each households come true by the living with in three generations. This came true for the people by gettin the employment opportunity through two channels. One is the commuting to the another cities or towns around Kisuki town and the another one is getting the opportunity for working inside Kisuki town.