Nagaoka Institute of Design

This article examines the trends in nail imports into Japan from the end of the Edo period to the early Meiji period through “COMMERCIAL REPORTS IN JAPAN” The following points become clear.

This article examines the estimation of nails in building specifications and estimates in the official records of the Dajokan in the early Meiji period. The following points become clear. Nail estimates changed from a per nail estimate at an early stage to a coefficient, and then to a lump sum nail cost, an estimate included in the carpenter's manpower cost. This dizzying change in nail estimates was due to the introduction of new construction techniques and the spread of low-cost Western nails.

This article examined a storehouse with the koshimume placed on top of the dodai and set back outside the wall between them. The following points become clear. Such storehouses were confirmed in Niigata Prefecture, Kawagoe City, and Midori City. I call these storehouses “koshimumeiri-dozo”. In this storehouse, the reason why the wall between the base and the koshimume is set back to the outside is to avoid thickening the wall with the inner wall and the koshimaki, and the wataita is used for security reasons.

This article considers the combined use of Japanese nails and Western nails in Uchi-gura of former Nakasuji family house built in 1886. The following points became clear.

This article considers the domestic consumption of sheet glass for construction from the Meiji era to the prewar period. The following points will be clarified.

The author has clarified the following by considering the distribution of Japanese nails and imported Western nails in addition to the combined use of Japanese nails and Western nails in buildings. The Japanese nails and the Western nails were widely used in the latter half of the 10s of the Meiji era. The earliest imported nail was "Nail-rod", which produced Japanese nails (Yotetsu-wakugi), and the combined use with imported Western nails progressed in the latter half of the 10's of the Meiji era. That's right. However, after the middle of the 20's of the Meiji era, nail iron could not compete with Western nails as a product in terms of price, and I show that the import of nail iron was cut off. In addition, I showed the price of Western nails as an imported product in the Meiji era, and considered the changes in the import quantity of Western nails during the prewar period.

A novel approach to the use of scarecrows in Japan’s rice terraces based on their introduction to the rice terraces in Hirei village in Nagaoka City, Niigata Prefecture. These scarecrows stand above the rice terraces of Hirei village, a very famous rice-growing area on the northwest coast of Honshu Island in Japan. The concept is based on the idea that “scarecrows are farmers and friends”. Therefore, the appearance of the scarecrows should be friendly and funny.