今年度は、最終年度であり、これまで進めてきた研究を論文として学会誌で発表することを主に行った。昨年度学会誌に投稿した三重県の有力林業家の吉田家の研究成果は、今年度学会誌に掲載された。また、昨年度から進めてきた秋田木材株式会社についての研究成果も、今年度学会誌に掲載された。鉱山業については、近代日本のガス・電気事業者の鉱山業への進出について、名古屋瓦斯株式会社と金沢電気瓦斯株式会社を事例として研究した。名古屋瓦斯会社は、大都市名古屋に所在し、ガスを大量に供給するため、原料石炭を安定的に確保すべく炭鉱業へ進出した。一方、金沢電気瓦斯会社は、電気事業の広域化とガス事業の金沢市域への集中化を図った。結果的に、名古屋では名古屋瓦斯会社が電力会社と合併して、巨大民間企業が電力とガスの両方を供給することとなり、金沢では金沢市域の電気・ガス事業は市営化された。人口規模の違いにより、エネルギー産業の適正な経営規模があったことが判明した。そして、これまで研究してきた林業・鉱山業・水力電気事業の関連を、山の資源利用の視点からまとめた講演を、成城大学経済研究所で行った。近代日本では、鉱産資源、林産資源、水資源などの山の資源が家庭用エネルギー源として広く利用され、大都市でエネルギー多消費型の大衆消費社会の萌芽が見られた。第二次世界大戦後の高度経済成長期に、安価な石油と安価な木材が大量に輸入されることで、エネルギー多消費型の大衆消費社会が全国化した。そこでは、安価なエネルギーの存在を前提とした生活様式となったが、現代の資源問題の解決には、消費者の意識改革が最も重要と考えられる。なお、新型コロナウィルスの感染拡大のために、資料調査が行えなかったため、これまでマイクロフィルムに撮影した歴史資料のデジタルデータへの変換を行い、研究環境の整備を進めた。
This year was the final year, and we mainly presented the research we had been pursuing in academic journals as papers. The research results of the Yoshida family, a leading forester in Mie Prefecture, which were submitted to the academic journal last year, were published in the academic journal this year. The results of our research on Akita Lumber Co., Ltd., which we have been working on since last year, were also published in the academic journal this year. With regard to the mining industry, we studied the entry of gas and electric utilities in modern Japan into the mining industry, using Nagoya Gas Co., Ltd. and Kanazawa Electric Gas Co., Ltd., as examples. Nagoya Gas Company, located in the large city of Nagoya, entered the coal mining industry to secure a stable supply of raw coal in order to provide a large quantity of gas. On the other hand, Kanazawa Electric Gas Company tried to broaden its electricity business and concentrate its gas business in the Kanazawa City area. As a result, in Nagoya, the Nagoya Gas Company merged with the electric power company, and a huge private company provided both electricity and gas, while in Kanazawa, the electricity and gas business in the Kanazawa area was made municipal. It turned out that the energy industry had the right scale of operation because of the difference in population size. We then gave a lecture at Institute for Economic Studies of Seijo University on the links between forestry, mining, and hydroelectric power, which he had been studying, from the perspective of using mountain resources. In modern Japan, mountain resources such as mineral, forest and water resources were widely used as domestic energy sources, and the beginnings of an energy-intensive, mass-consumption society were seen in large cities. During the period of rapid economic growth after World War II, a mass import of cheap oil and cheap wood led to the nationalization of a mass energy-consuming society. It became a way of life premised on the existence of cheap energy, but in order to solve the modern resource problem, the most important thing is to change the awareness of consumers. Since it was not possible to conduct research on the materials due to the spread of the novel coronavirus, historical materials captured on microfilm were converted to digital data in order to improve the research environment.