Taking the Goki-Shichido (Five Home Provinces and Seven Circuits of
Ancient Japan) as a theoretical framework, this book examines shrinking
Japan from a regional variation perspective by municipality along the
ancient Tokaido, which comprises 15 provinces, and seven prefectures
today. The study identifies the principal explanatory factors based on
the small area data of e-Stat through GPS statistical software tools
such as G-census and EvaCva, within a historical perspective. This
historical knowledge helps in understanding the significance of the
regional cultural heritage that remains in each municipality today. The
book pays special attention to municipal variations within the same
prefecture, presenting a completely unique approach from what other
researchers have pursued.
This volume studies two present-day prefectures along the ancient
Tokaido for detailed analyses of the impacts of regional variations of
population decline in Japan. They are Shizuoka Prefecture, made up of
the former Tootoumi, Suruga, and Izu provinces, and Mie Prefecture,
formed by the ancient provinces of Iga, Ise, Shima, and the eastern part
of Kii as examples to show the impacts of municipal power on regional
variations of shrinking Japan. The reasons for selecting these two
prefectures of the ancient Tokaido are twofold. First, they are made up
of a multiple number of the ancient provinces. Second, other prefectures
that fall under the Tokaido have been studied in the previous works of
the present author by adopting the same methods of analyses. Thus, by
presenting unique analyses of regional variations on small municipal
levels, with demographic variables, social indicators, and historical
identities of municipalities in Shizuoka and Mie prefectures along the
Tokaido, this book offers suggestions for effective regional policy to
revitalize shrinking Japan to a sustainable one.
