In this research, further analysis was conducted by extracting the words that appeared more than ten times. This step provided the authors with more detailed insights into the values held by people who nominated their favorite rural landscapes. SPSS Text Analysis for Surveys 3.0 Japanese (SPSS Inc. 2007) was used to extract the words, and they were categorized into groups.
Every noun, verb, and adjective was extracted. Those words that appeared fewer than ten times and those that did not have useful meaning for this study were ignored. Also, individual animal and plant species names were not included, as they were discussed in previous research (Iwata et al. 2010).
The words used in the study were then categorized into 49 subcategories by the authors and were in turn placed in nine larger categories. Table 6.3 shows the categories of words, the number of words in each category, and the frequency of their appearance.
Figure 6.6, a graph of the subcategories, shows that the words categorized as “Village/People’s settlement” were most frequently used, indicating that people valued the presence of human life in the rural landscapes rather than natural elements solely. The words categorized as “Individual species name” were used at second frequency, which indicates that specific animals and plants were important elements for the preferable rural landscapes. The words categorized as “Landscape” and “Geographical features” were used at next greatest frequency, which shows that the beauty of landscape and the geographic features that shape rural landscapes were highly valued.
The words with the next largest usage were categorized as “Seasons” and “History,” which indicates that the rural landscapes that enable people to feel the passing of the seasons are equally as important as those having a sense of history. This could be a unique tendency for Japan where there are four extremely distinct seasons, and people living in urban areas still long for the feeling of the changing seasons. Those words categorized as “Mountain” and “Water” are also often used, which reflects the fact that the characteristics of typical Japanese rural landscapes are that they are surrounded by mountains and water bodies normally consist of small rivers flowing through mountain valleys.
Words categorized as “Agricultural activity” and “Rice production” were also used more than 500 times, which indicated that many people still value the rural landscape as an agricultural production site.
Figure 6.7, showing the ratio of the large categories from Table 6.3, shows that the most frequently used were words categorized as “Culture/History” and “Nature/ Geographical features.” The second largest category was “Feeling and Senses.”
The authors further attempted to divide the large categories into the Ecosystem Services defined by the United Nations, which include Supporting Services “that are necessary for the production of all other ecosystem services,” Provisioning Services that are “products obtained from ecosystems,” Regulating Services that are “benefits obtained from the regulation of ecosystem processes,” and Cultural
Individual words used more than ten times in each group () ; number of appearances
Vista (43), Sweeping View (39)
Scenery (547), Landscape (228), Authentic Landscape (131), Terraced Paddy Competition (124), Cultural Landscape (75), Pastoral Landscape (75), Natural Landscape (28), Contrast(25), Rural Scenery(25), Scene (17), Rural Landscape(16), Satoyama Landscape (15), Snowscape (13), Satoyama Scenery (10)
Seasons (247), Autumn (211), Spring (198), Summer (182), Winter (141), Autumn Leaves (81), Snow (62), Early Summer (41), Spring Shoots (39), The Changing Seasons (17), Each Season (16), A Touch of Spring (14), Layers of Snow (12), Summertime (11), The Eve of Winter (11), Early Spring (10), Winter Time (10)
Rusticity (46), Style (44), Atmosphere (42), Distinct (41), Remnant (41), Taste (25), Appearance (24), Uniqueness (21), Individualistic (19), Expression (17), Character of the Locality (14), Secret Places (14), Image (12), Character (10), Climate (10)
Heart (186), Feeling (41), Discovery (24), Moving (14), Spirit (10)
Wind (51), Sound (37), Myriad (35), Sky (34), Sunset(33), Murmer (28), Color (24), Light (24), Twitter (23), Fragrance (21), Stars (18), Chirp (17), Yellow (16), Morning (16), Morning Light (15),Night Sky (15), Song (14), Blanket of Cloud (14), Smell (14), Moon (13), The Heavens (12), Starry Sky (12), Sun (12), Memory (12), Fascinate (11), Sensations (11), Innumerable Stars (11), Five Senses (11), Evening Time (11), Carpet (10), Picture (10), Body (10)
Legend (38), Stage (22), Movie (19), Dream (15), Treasure (15), Memory (13), Evocative (12), Filming Site (12), Story (11), Theme (11), Model (10), Manyoshu, ancient song book (10), Treasure (10), Folk Story (10)
Home (Furusato) (118), Culture) 84), World (40), Japan (39), Home Town (33), Japanese (23), Nostalgia (16), Origin (14), Japan’s Most Famous (11), Proud of (11)
Life (26), Bom (12)
Past (245), History (182), Since Past (111), Generation (185), Traditional (59), Ancestor (51), Inheritance (45), Folklore (36), Middle Age (35), Ancient (28), Inheritance Site (26), Historic Site (24), Showa Period (24), Cultural Inheritance (22), Old Road (18), Vestige (16), Castle Remains (15), Modem (15), 300 years (14), The Warring State Period (13), Old (12),
Traditional Culture (12), Thousands Years (12), Historical Culture (12), Kamakura Period (12), Heian Period (11), Jomon Period (10), Showa 30’s (10), Period of Domain State (10)
Picture Letter (13), Custom (12), Traditional Art (11), Taste (10)
Fortune (15), World Heritage (14), Important Cultural Heritage (12), Ancient Tomb (12), Remains
(10)
Shrine (45), Temple (31), Belief (27), Village Shrine (24),Graveyard (15), Local God (13), Spiritual Site (11), Precinct (11), Invocation (11)
Local Name (31), Name (24), Giving Name (14)
Home Village (Sato) (568), Local (501), Settlement (397), Village (135), Mountain Town (89), Village Houses (81), Site of streets (69), Stone Wall (48), Houses (48), Agricultural Village (45), Countryside (35), Small Settlement (31), Mountain Village (31), Homestead Woodland (29), Old Folks House (26), Roof (24), Row of Houses (23), Thatched Houses (21), Thatches (20), Home Village Site (Satochi) (19), Marginal Village (29), Boat (21), Inn Town (18), Livelihood Culture (16), Small Village (16), Farming and Mountain Villages (15), Homestead (15), Storehouse (15), Station (15), White Walls (14), Village People (13), Old Home Towns (12), Family of Pedigree (11), Residential Building (11), Waterwheel (11), Town(ll), Castle Town (10), Entire Village (10), Human Dwellings (10), Posting Station (10)
Future (37), Succeeding Generations (27), Modem Times (25), After Time (23), Future Generation (12), Descendent (12), Continuation (11), Successor (10)
Time (41), Year (24), This Year (24)
Hot Spring Site (75), Tourists (53), Symbol (51), Beauty Spot (37), Photograph (29), Tourist Site (25), Highlight (20), Tourism (20), Recreation Trail (19), Mountain Trail (17), Village for Firefly (15), Aesthetic Landscape (15), Upland (15), Museum (13), Viewing Platform (12), Course (11), Exhibition (11), Guide Sign (11), Guest House (10), Spot (10), Hot Spring Facilities (10), Hot Water (10), Forest Road (10)
Activity (133), Experience (49), Observation (30), Volunteer (26), Tree Planting (24), Biotope (19), Environmental Education (16), Environmental Learning (15), Nature Observation (13), Learning (12), Camp Site (12), Fishing (11), Field Study (11), Agricultural Experience (11), Camp (10), Participant (10), Education (10)
100 Sato Contest (38), Village Scenery Contest (38), Festival (33), Important Satochi Satoyama Selected Site (31), Traditional Event (29), 100 Village Scenery (28), Event (28), Select 100 (17)
Individual words used more than ten times in each group () ; number of appearances
Examination (24), Research (11)
Interaction (74), Cooperation (60), Participation (48), Relaxation (41), Together (29), Formation (24), Working Together (21), Coordination (16), Bond (12), Town Planning (12), Regional Planning (10), Regional Revitalization (10)
Management (62), Rehabilitation (49), Hands In (45), Open Burning (26), Mowing (18), Cleaning (17), Thinning (14), Work (14), Tree Trimming (13), Maintenance (11), Renovation (10), Burning (10)
People (293), Children (149), Local People (24), Adults (15), Local Farmers (12), Old People (12) Reservation (55), Preservation (45), Preservation Activity (35), Protected Activity (19) Vitalization (39), Creating Sato (22), Reconstruction (10), Spread Information (10)
Effort (40), Coexistence (30), Organization (22), Establishment (22), Development (20), Project (14), Continuous (14), Inauguration (13), Propellant (13), Excises (13), Securement (12), Contribution (11), Support (10), Accomplishment (10), Planning (10), Sharing (10) Exploitation (19), Cultivation (11)
Charcoal Burning (33), Resource (24), Charcoal (13), Firewood (12), Extraction (12), Sericulture
(11)
Application (68)
Agriculture (102), Plowland (82), Cultivation (63), Production (47), Farmland (42), Area of Production (34), Harvesting (34), Cultivation (31), Sales (21), Indigenous product (17), Farming (17), Regular Vocation (14), Agricultural Production (13), Pesticide (12), Ranch (12), Cultivated Field (11), Crop (10), Non-Pesticide (10)
Paddy Field (323), Reservoir (42), Channel (41), Rice Planting (39), Pastoral (36), Rice Cropping (34), Rice Ear (31), Growing Rice (21), Fallow Field (20), Pastoral Region (19), Paths by the Paddies (15), Harvesting Rice (15), Dike by the Paddies (10), Paddy Field Region (10) Agricultural Field (119), Terraced Fields (51), Fruit Farm (15)
Food (18), Cooking Ingredient (16), Food Culture (13), Seaweeds (10), Green Horseradish (10) Vegetables (50), Sweet Potato (11)
Apple (25), Orange (17), Japanese Persimmon (16), Sweet Chestnut (12), Fruits Trees (10),
Grape (10)
Rice (54), Soba Noodle Crop (51), Tea Tree (36), Koshihikari (Brand of Rice) (9), Soy (8), Straw (7), Wheat (6), Productiveness of Grain (6)
Benefit (16), Provision (12)
Large Nature (27), Native (19), Untouched (18)
Nature (650), Ground (183), Environment (119), Earth (18), Slope (49), Hill (39), Valley (31), Rock Summit (30), Stone (26), Hillside (22), Canyon (21), Plane Land (21), Slope Site (19), Basin (18), Hillside Land (18), Summit (16), Rock (16), Perpendicular Slope (16), Plateau (13), Bank (13), Valley Site (13)
Ocean (154), Island (128), Coast (38), Coastline (25), Set of Islands(19)
Mountain (344), Foot of Mountain (122), Range of Mountains (112), Between Mountains (78), Mountain Forest (33), Top of Mountain (25), Mountain Ravines (24), Mountain Chain (20), Skirts of Mountain (18), Filed Mountain (10), Between Mountains (10)
Water (204), River (183), Fresh Stream (81), Stream (64), Pond (50), Waterfall (35), Headstream (34), River (32), Spring (31), Headwaters (30), Waterfront (29), Lake (26), Branch Stream (24), Downstream (19), Freshwater (17), Bog (13)
Green (134), Forest (131), Primary Forest (35)
Secondary Woodland (80), Trees (38), Woodland (38), Plantation (33), Bamboo Forest (26), Pine Forest (14), Natural Forest (10)
Giant Tree (26), Tree (26), Berry (21), Large Tree (18), Windbreak Forest (16), Broadleaf Tree (16), Old Tree (12)
Grassland (63), Grass (32), Wetland (25), Highland (25), Wilderness (13)
Park (35), Planting Ground (29), Row of Cherry Blossom Trees (19), Natural Park (10)
Animals and Plants (229), Flower (141), Habitat (32), In Clumps (27), Mountain Grasses (21), Vegetation (14), Wild Animals (14), High Mountain Vegetation (11), Grass and Trees (10), Flowers (10)
Tree Species (478), Bacteria Species (28), Grass Species (224), Mammals (346), Birds (135), Amphibians(66), Reptiles (14), Fish (210), Insects (396), Shells (10), Extinctions (81)
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Agricultural activities/
Fig. 6.7 Ratio of larger groups of words that appeared more than ten times
Services that are “nonmaterial benefits people obtain from ecosystems through spiritual enrichment, cognitive development, reflection, recreation, and aesthetic experiences” (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA), UN 2005).
According to the Ecosystem Service categorization shown in Fig. 6.7, the words categorized as Cultural Services were the most prominent, which accounted for 52 % of the words extracted, followed by Supporting Services including natural factors, which accounted for about 22 %. Provisional Services related to resource management and Agricultural Activities and Biodiversity including individual species names comprised about 16 % and 10 %, respectively.
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Fig. 6.8 Image of rural landscape in Japan |
