The Origins of Commutation in Japan MIKI Masafumi Faculty of Letters

Geographical Review of Japan Vol. 78, No. 5, 247-264, 2005 The Origins of Commutation in Japan MIKI Masafumi Faculty of Letters, Nara University, Nara 631-3502, Japan Abstract: This study attempts to clarify the formation of commutation by focusing on transportation, labor, and education in modern Japan. "Commutation" in this study refers to the everyday habit of commuting by public transportation between a home and a workplace in separate areas. Since previous studies analyzed commutation quantitatively on the basis of National Census Reports, they failed to show the prototype and formation of commutation in geography and its cognate disciplines. Some historical studies on metropolitan areas point out that an important factor in the formation of commutation was the growth of residential suburbs, but they do not clarify the causal relationships between the development of commu tation and the growth of residential suburbs in modern Japan. The present study therefore clarifies the prototype and formation of commutation from a social historical viewpoint. It shows that increasing commutation by workers and students between urban and suburban areas after the 1920s was closely related to the development of railways, an increase in "white -collarp' workers, and an increase in graduates from higher schools. In particular, commutation by workers and by students accounted for the popularization of commutation, and the two were closely related and created a regenerative structure. Key words: commutation, regenerative structure, transportation, labor, education, modern Japan its which were introduced between the late feu Introduction dal age and the First world war. Commutation has been established as a social habit that is typical of Japanese urban society. Urban studies and commutation Most residents in metropolitan areas are in the The aim of this paper is to analyze the forma habit of commuting every day mainly by public tion of commutation by clarifying some transportation. In this paper, the author refers changes from pre-modern (kandai) to post to the habit of everyday commuting by public modern (gendai) Japanese urban society. Since transportation between a home and a work most studies in Japanese historical geography place in two separate areas as "commutation." have generally followed the traditional political Workers commuting daily between their homes division of periods from antiquity to post in the suburbs and a workplace in a town or modernity, it has been vaguely considered that city have played a major role in commutation, the division between the feudal and pre-modern which began to increase around the time of the was the Meiji Restoration (1868) and that be First world war. tween the pre-modern and post modern was the Typical business trips between urban and ru Second world war. Some studies on society ral areas developed from the barter of human and culture do not however apply these divi waste for vegetables from the late feudal into sions, and Okado (2000) argues that the oppor the pre-modern age (watanabe 1991). Mer tunity for change in Japanese society from the chants in Osaka and its environs made many pre-modern to the post-modern took place not business or sales trips in the late feudal age so much during the Second world war as dur (Nakanishi 2000: 237-246), which were the pro ing the First world war. Such studies propose totypes of commutation trips from then on that Japanese social habits from the feudal age wards. The author considers that business and had intermingled with the western social hab sales trips from the feudal age intermingled 247 2 MIKI M. with commutation trips in the Meiji era (1868 poral awareness between the feudal and pre -1912) and that commutation increased from the modern ages by whether they had Western time of the First World War. It is important to clocks. note that the opportunity for changes in com There are few references to the relationship mutation between the pre-modern and post between commutation and railways, factories, modern periods took place during the First, and schools in temporal awareness in these rather than the Second, World War. studies. Upon reconsidering the matter, social Many studies on commutation by workers habits and the three factors of transportation, have two points of relevance. First, traffic flows labor, and educational institutions are very im by commutation have been analyzed in geo portant elements in analyzing the formation of graphical studies as an important index to commutation. This paper therefore reviews measure the level of urbanization (Narita 1995: some studies on the above-mentioned three fac 265-336; Ishikawa 1999). Data obtained by the tors to serve as a framework for analyzing com National Census Reports were utilized in these mutation. geographical studies, which discuss the rela First, there are few historical studies on tionship between the core and the periphery in transportation related to commutation except metropolitan areas. Although studies on com for Nakanishi (1963: 297-302) and Ohba (1990), mutation by workers have been mostly con whose studies dealt with the relationship be ducted as indexes of urban studies, few have tween the construction of metropolitan rail clarified the origin and formation of commuta ways and the formation of commutation by tion in geography and its cognate disciplines. workers in the 1920s. Nakanishi (1963: 297 However, the author considers that their origin - 302) explained that commutation by private and formation are very important factors for electric railways was mainly done by the mid considering the construction of urban transpor dle classes, while Ohba (1990) pointed out that tation systems. the means for commutation were divided into Second, the development of residential areas tramways and suburban electric railways in the suburbs from the 1910s has been consid which were respectively intended for laborers ered an important cause of the formation and and office workers. In this context it is neces quantitative growth in commuter traffic. sary to analyze the relationship between the Katagi et al. (2000) explain that private railway forms of transportation and the working condi companies actively developed residential areas tions for each type of urban worker. in the suburbs, where mainly office workers, Second, historical studies about labor in re assistants at large-scale shops, and their fami gard to commutation include those about the lies resided. The author considers that the at labor-wage system which were started by Su tributes and working conditions of residents miya (1955) and those about personnel manage must also be clarified when studying commuta ment and industrial relations which began with tion. Hazama (1964). An important point made in these studies was the collapse of the traditional Social habits and commutation live-in work system after the introduction of The author considers that the social habits the wage-labor system. When studying the which contributed to the formation and quanti sociology of merchant families, Nakano (1964) tative growth in commuter traffic need to be paid some attention to the appearance of new clarified. Most social habits in present-day commuter family branches (tsuukin bekke). The Japan came from Europe after the opening of separation of home and workplace is considered ports to international trade in the late feudal to be an important element in the formation of age and were mainly popularized in Japan commutation. through the military, schools, and railways (Na There have been few studies on commutation rusawa 1997: 1-94). Hashimoto and Kuriyama by students and the movement of business. Be (2001) demonstrated that railways, factories, cause most historical studies on education ex and schools symbolized the differences in tem amined educational systems, there are few 248 The Origins of Commutation in Japan 3 about commutation by students between their tries, businesses, and transportation systems homes and schools. Geographical studies have were highly developed. In addition, many re paid some attention to school districts in terms search materials could be obtained easily be of considering small regional units,1 and re cause the city of Osaka has investigated social cently Ukita (1998) analyzed historical loca habits and published extensive reports. tions of schools. In this paper, the author mainly analyzes the Transportation: Railways and the city and suburbs of Osaka after considering the Formation of Commutation changes in social habits throughout Japan. The analysis was conducted by using the frame Railway fares and commutation work of the above-mentioned three factors, and Osaka and its suburbs were chosen because Because the Tokugawa shogunate had pro they form a representative region where indus hibited transportation by vehicles, commuta- Table 1. Events related to commutation via JGR all over Japan and private railways in Osaka City and its environs Sources: Nihon Kokuyuu Tetsudou (1969), Kobayashi (1938), Satake (1952), Hanamoto (1943), Japan Business History Insti tute (1985), Keihan Electric Railway Company (1960), Saeki (1940). 249 4 MIKI M. Table 2. Records of the Joujoukitte in the Koubushou Kiroku Source: Nihon Kokuyuu Tetsudou (1980). tion for more than ten kilometers rarely existed adopted a three-class system, charged half-fares during the Edo period. This began to change for children from the beginning, and had only with the introduction of the railways, the most one-way tickets at first. Another nationally common means of transportation for commuta owned railway line which opened between tion since the pre-modern age, and the distance Osaka and Kobe in May 1874 adopted a fare of commutation increased with the develop scale based on distance (Nikon Kokuyuu Tetsu ment of the railways. dou 1969; 416-418). The first railway line in Japan opened be Commuter passes have been considered to be tween Shimbashi in Tokyo and Yokohama in very important factors in the relationship be October 1872 and was nationally owned and tween railways and commutation, but it was in operated.

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