Name: 為什麼日本大多數人只住在一條小小的線裡？ (Why Most Japanese Just Live In This Small Line)
Uploaded: 2025-11-20T17:21:14.000Z
Duration: 23 min 47 s

Japan is one of the world's most populous countries, home to around 123 million people.

日本是世界上人口最多的國家之一，約有 1.23 億人口。

Today, Japan is the world's 11th most populous country, and

今天，日本是世界第 11 個人口最多的國家，

it's also home to the world's second most populous island, Honshu, home to more than 83% of the Japanese population, to more than 102 million people all on its own.

也是世界第二個人口最多的島嶼本州的所在地，本州擁有超過 83% 的日本人口，單是本州就有超過 1.02 億人。

But when you look just beneath the surface of these statistics, you'll see that Japan has one of the most unusual and interesting population patterns in the world.

但當你深入瞭解這些統計數據時，你會發現日本擁有世界上最不尋常、也最有趣的人口分佈模式之一。

Because the vast majority of Japan's population all just live within a relatively small and linear line that runs across the center and east of the country's south.

這是因為日本絕大多數的人口都居住在一個相對狹小且線性的區域內，這個區域貫穿了日本南部國家的中部和東部。

Nearly two thirds of the entire Japanese population all just live within this line that encompasses most of Japan's largest metropolitan areas, including Fukuoka, Hidekiyushu, Hiroshima, Okayama, Takamatsu, Kobe, Osaka, Kyoto, Nagoya, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, and

將近三分之二的日本總人口都居住在這個區域內，這個區域包含了日本大部分最大的大都會區，包括福岡、九州、廣島、岡山、高松、神戶、大阪、京都、名古屋、濱松、靜岡，以及

Roughly 80 million Japanese live within this long but narrow line that extends for around 1,200 kilometers across, an area that only makes up less than 10% of Japan's total land area, leaving behind the remaining 90% of the country that's significantly more sparsely populated.

大約有 8000 萬日本人居住在這條狹長的地帶，長度約為 1,200 公里，而這個區域僅佔日本總土地面積的不到 10%，剩下 90% 的國家則人口稀少得多。

To help you visualize this divide better, roughly 80 million Japanese live within the line that makes up less than 10% of the country's area, while only about 43 million Japanese live within the rest of the 90% of the country, nearly half of the population lives within the much, much, much smaller line.

為了讓你更能想像這種差異，大約有 8000 萬日本人居住在佔國家面積不到 10% 的區域內，而只有約 4300 萬日本人居住在剩下的 90% 國家土地上，近一半的人口卻居住在小得多的區域裡。

The line of Japan contains an average population density that's nearly 17 times greater than the rest of the country has, which is one of the most astonishing differences between two different regions of the same country seen anywhere in the world.

日本這個區域的人口密度，是國家其他地區的近 17 倍，這是世界上同一國家不同地區之間最令人驚訝的差異之一。

Put another way, the line of Japan all throughout is even more dense than the crowded city state of Vatican City is.

換句話說，日本這條狹長的區域，人口密度甚至比人口稠密的國家梵蒂岡城還要高。

While the rest of Japan has an average population density that's about the same as the US State of Pennsylvania, economically, the line also accounts for an Even more astonishing 70% of the entire Japanese economy.

而日本其他地區的人口密度大約跟美國的賓夕法尼亞州差不多，但經濟上，這條狹長區域卻貢獻了日本整體經濟驚人的 70%。

This highly populated and economically powerful line across Japan has been referred to by many different names.

這條人口密集且經濟強勁的日本狹長區域，有許多不同的稱呼。

Sometimes it's referred to as the Taihei Belt, which in English means Pacific Belt, and

有時候它被稱為 Taihei Belt，英文的意思是 Pacific Belt，也就是太平洋帶。

另外，它也被稱為 Tokaido Corridor，東海道走廊。

I will continue referring to it from here on as the Taiheo Belt.

從現在開始，我會繼續稱它為 Taiheo Belt。

And in many ways, it is fairly comparable in both size and scope to the Northeast megalopolis in the United States, the most densely populated continuous urban area in North America.

在很多方面，它在規模和範圍上都與美國的美國東北部巨型都會區相當，那是北美最密集連續的都會區。

That runs across the Cities of Washington, D.C. baltimore, Philadelphia, New York City, and Boston.

這個美國東北部巨型都會區橫跨了華盛頓特區、巴爾的摩、費城、紐約市和波士頓等城市。

Geographically, the Taiheo Belt is a bit larger.

地理上來說，Taiheo Belt 的範圍稍微大一些。

Placed side by side with Fukuoka beginning where Washington, D.C.

如果將它與 Fukuoka 擺在一起，Taiheo Belt 的起點就相當於華盛頓特區的起點。

begins, the Taiheo Belt would extend across the entire northeast coast well beyond Boston, with Tokyo placed roughly in central Maine, with around 80 million people living across it.

開始的話，Taiheo Belt 會一路延伸到波士頓以外的整個東北海岸，東京大約會位在緬因州中部，總共有大約 8000 萬人居住其中。

The Taiheo Belt is also significantly more populated than the Northeast Megalopolis is as well, which is home to only about 53 million people by comparison.

相較之下，Taiheo Belt 的人口密度也比美國東北部巨型都會區來得高，那裡只有大約 5300 萬人。

This difference in population density and scale between the two partly explains the dramatically superior rail connectivity across the Taiheo Belt that exists today.

兩者在人口密度和規模上的差異，部分解釋了 Taiheo Belt 今日之所以擁有如此優越的鐵路連結。

Japan's famous Shinkansen bullet train network connects the entire corridor together today and enables rapid transport from Tokyo to Fukuyama in only about three and a half hours, roughly half the time that it takes Amtrak's Acela to cover the same distance from Boston to Washington, D.C.

日本著名的「新幹線」高鐵網絡串聯了整個走廊，讓東京到福山之間的快速運輸只需大約三個半小時，大約是 Amtrak 的 Acela 從波士頓到華盛頓特區所需時間的一半。

But all of this begs a fundamental why does Japan's human geography look like this in the first place?

但這一切都引出了一個根本問題：日本的人文地理一開始為什麼會是這個樣子？

Why does so much of Japan's population all live crammed together within a relatively narrow straight line across a small part of the country?

為什麼日本這麼多人口都擠在一個國家的小部分、一條相對狹窄的直線區域裡？

And why is the rest of the country so much more relatively empty by comparison?

而國家其他地方相比之下卻如此空曠？

First of all, it helps a lot to just simply look at a topographic map that shows Japan's elevation.

首先，看看日本的地形圖，會很有幫助，它能顯示日本的海拔高度。

Japan is one of the most mountainous countries in the world, with about 73% of the country's total land area covered by them, leaving behind only about a quarter of the country left for significant human habitation in the few scattered areas of flatter land where urban development is easier and more affordable.

日本是世界上最多山的國家之一，總國土面積約有 73% 被山地覆蓋，只剩下大約四分之一的國土供人口居住，這些地方是少數零散的平坦區域，適合城市發展且更為便利實惠。

Since time immemorial, this fact has left the people of the Japanese archipelago restricted to living within close proximity to each other along the coastal plains and across the few flatter areas within the interior, where some stepped rice fields can be placed in the hills.

自古以來，這個事實就讓日本列島的居民不得不緊密地生活在一起，沿著沿海平原以及內陸少數較平坦的區域，這些地方可以勉強在山丘上開闢一些梯田。

There are pockets of flat land found all across the country, from the west to the east and from the north to the south.

全國各地都有零星的平坦土地，從西到東，從北到南。

But you will note how the Taiheiyo Belt follows across what happens to be the three largest continuous areas of flat land found anywhere in the country, the Kenai Plain that encompasses the cities of Osaka, Kobe, and

但你會注意到，太平洋帶（Taiheiyo Belt）正好橫跨了日本三個最大片的連續平坦區域，包括大阪、神戶和京都所在的關內平原，以及包含名古屋的濃尾平原，

Kyoto the Nobi Plain that encompasses Nagoya, and

還有日本最大的平原——包含東京這個巨型都會區的關東平原。

the single largest plain of all that can be found anywhere in Japan, the Kanto Plain that encompasses the megacity of Tokyo.

這三個平原都有大河貫穿，非常適合農業發展和容納龐大人口。

All three of these plains also have large rivers that flow through them that make them ideal centers for agriculture and supporting large populations.

位於濃尾平原的名古屋大都會區是日本第三大都會區，有超過 930 萬居民。

The Nagoya metropolitan area, crowded within the Nobi Plain, is Japan's third largest metro area, home to more than 9.3 million people.

位於關內平原的 Osaka 大都會區是第二大都會區，有超過 1930 萬居民。

The Osaka metropolitan area, crowded within the flat Kenai Plain, is the second largest, home to more than 19.3 million people.

而位於關東平原的 Tokyo 大都會區不僅是日本最大，

While the Tokyo metropolitan area, crowded within the Kanto Plain, is the largest not only in Japan, but

更是全世界最大的都會區，今天有超過 4100 萬居民，是美國紐約市大都會區人口的兩倍多。

in the entire world, with more than 41 million people living there today, more than double the population of the New York City metropolitan area in the United states.

Collectively, these three plains alone are home to nearly 70 million people.

光是這三個平原加起來，就住了將近七千萬人。

Most of the population lives within the whole Taiheo Belt, and

大部分人口都住在整個太平洋帶裡，

indeed more than half of the entire nationwide population.

實際上，也佔了全國總人口的一半以上。

They've historically been the most major population economic and political centers in Japan for centuries now that have long dominated over the rest of the country.

幾百年來，這裡一直是日本最主要的經濟和政治中心，長期以來都主導著全國。

But that's not just because they're the three largest areas of continuous flat land available for city building.

但這不只是因為它們是適合蓋城市的三大連續平坦土地區域。

The western side of the island of Honju that faces the Sea of Japan has some areas of flat land around the coast too.

本州島面向日本海的西側，海岸周圍也有一些平坦的土地。

But on top of none of these areas being quite as large as the Kenai, Novi and Kanto Plains that are over on the Pacific side, they have multiple other disadvantages that have always made them less attractive places to settle in as well.

然而，這些地方都不如太平洋那邊的關內、濃尾和關東平原來得大，而且還有其他幾個缺點，讓它們一直以來都不是那麼吸引人居住。

For one thing, the Pacific side of Japan, for whatever reason, was also blessed by the RNG geography gods with significantly larger, deeper and more useful natural harbors as well.

其中一個原因是，日本的太平洋沿岸，無論是哪個原因，都被地理之神眷顧，擁有更大、更深、更有用的天然港口。

Almost miraculously, Japan is home to not one, but

簡直是奇蹟，日本不僅擁有一個，

two of the most incredible natural harbors that can be found anywhere on the planet that are simultaneously huge, deep, exceptionally well sheltered, and

還有兩個地球上最令人驚嘆的天然港口，它們同時又巨大、又深、又非常安全，

directly connected to large flat hinterlands that can support huge adjacent population centers, Tokyo Bay and Osaka Bay, which of course are also directly connected to the huge flat Kanto and Kenai plains.

直接連接到廣闊平坦的內陸，可以支撐龐大的人口中心，像是東京灣和大阪灣，當然它們也直接連接到廣闊的關東平原和關內平原。

Tokyo Bay in particular, large, very deep, very well sheltered, and

東京灣尤其如此，它又大、又深、又非常安全，

surrounded by the flat Kanto Plain that's home to Tokyo with its 41 million people, is so comically overpowered from a commercial trade perspective that it alone handles around 350 million tons of seaborne cargo annually, which is comparable to the entire maritime trade volume of the whole of Italy combined.

而且周圍環繞著擁有四千一百萬人口的東京所在的關東平原，從商業貿易的角度來看，它的優勢實在太驚人了，光是它每年就處理了約三億五千萬噸的海運貨物，這相當於整個義大利的總海運貿易量。

While not quite as exceptional as the Tokyo and Osaka Bays are, the Ise Bay that connects directly to the Nobi Plain where Nagoya is concentrated, is also still world class, being huge, deep and fairly well sheltered, with the huge Nobi Plain directly adjacent.

雖然不像東京灣和大阪灣那麼特別，但連接到名古屋所在的濃尾平原的伊勢灣，仍然是世界級的，它又大、又深、又相當安全，而且廣闊的濃尾平原就在旁邊。

Obviously, these three world class natural harbors that just so happen to directly connect to the three largest flat plains in the country made them even more obvious centers to settle in in order to capitalize on the ridiculous commercial trade and nav potentials.

顯然，這三個世界級的天然良港，恰好直接連接到全國三個最大的平原，這讓它們成為了發展商業貿易和航運潛力的更明顯的定居中心。

The Pacific side of Japan has many other excellent natural harbors as well, including the Kagoshima and Nagasaki Bays on the Pacific facing side of Kyushu and Hiroshima Bay on Honshu.

日本的太平洋沿岸還有許多其他優良的天然港口，包括九州太平洋沿岸的鹿兒島灣和長崎灣，以及本州島的廣島灣。

The Western Sea of Japan facing side of Honshu, by comparison, is nowhere near as jagged as the Pacific facing side is.

相比之下，本州島面向日本海的西側，遠不如太平洋沿岸那樣崎嶇。

as a result, it has nowhere near as useful of natural harbors and ports as the Pacific facing side has.

結果就是，它擁有的天然良港和港口，遠不如太平洋沿岸的那麼有用。

The only notable harbors on the Sea of Japan's side of Honshu are Meizuru Bay and the Porta Niigata.

日本海側本州島上比較值得注意的港口只有舞鶴灣和新潟港。

But both of them are still just a tiny fraction of the size of the massive natural harbors over on the Pacific side, like the Tokyo and Osaka Bays, and

但這兩個港口的大小，跟太平洋沿岸像東京灣和大阪灣那樣巨大的天然良港比起來，都只是九牛一毛。

neither of them are connected to as large of a flat plain in the interior that can support millions of people nearby to sustain trade.

而且它們都沒辦法像太平洋沿岸那樣，連接著廣闊的平原，可以支撐數百萬人口在附近進行貿易。

The Sea of Japan's side of Honshu and the entire northern island of Hokkaido simply have nowhere near as ideal natural harbors to utilize for trade and commerce.

日本海側的本州島，以及整個北邊的北海道，在天然良港方面，根本無法跟太平洋沿岸相比，不利於貿易和商業活動。

On top of nowhere near as large of plains to build cities in.

更別提還有足夠大的平原來蓋城市了。

Compounding other disadvantages, to support huge populations even further, and

再加上其他不利因素，要支撐龐大的人口，

to make the Pacific side of Japan even more advantageous, it also has the Sato Inland Sea, which is, without a coincidence, placed directly in the center of the Taihei Belt.

而且為了讓日本的太平洋沿岸更具優勢，還有瀨戶內海，這片海域恰好位於太平洋帶的正中央。

Because the vast majority of Japan's landmass is mountainous, the islands have an abundance of water.

由於日本大部分的國土都是山地，所以島上不缺水源。

But the dearth of flatland also means that nearly all of the rivers running through the interior are rough and full of rapids and waterfalls that make them completely unsuitable for interior navigation and trade, something that's made even worse by the fact that most of the rivers don't even connect together either.

但平地稀少也意味著，流經內陸的河流幾乎都湍急且佈滿了急流和瀑布，完全不適合內陸航運和貿易，更糟的是，大多數河流甚至彼此不相連。

But what Japan does have that more than makes up for the lack of navigable rivers is the Seido Inland Sea, the largely enclosed body of water that's protected from the rest of the Pacific between the main islands of Honshu, Kyushu, and

但日本擁有的東西，足以彌補沒有可航行河流的不足，那就是瀨戶內海，這片大部分被圍起來的水域，介於本州、九州和

Between these main islands, there are only four very narrow straits that connect the Sado Inland Sea with the rest of the Greater Pacific, which makes its water significantly more calm than anywhere in the surrounding ocean.

這些主要島嶼之間，只有四個非常狹窄的海峽將佐渡內海與太平洋其他區域連接起來，這使得這裡的海水比周圍海洋的任何地方都要平靜得多。

While the tidal currents within the four narrow straits leading into and out of the sea can be strong and complex, the rest of the sea is exceptionally navigable, and

雖然進出該海域的四個狹窄海峽內的潮汐洋流可能很強勁且複雜，但海域的其餘部分卻非常適合航行，

it blesses Japan's geography with one of the largest internal seas for navigation and trade that can be found anywhere in the world.

而且它還為日本的地理環境增添了世界上最大的內海之一，便於航行和貿易，這在世界各地都難得一見。

To give you just a sense of the Sado Wyland Sea's scale, if you placed it over the northeast coast of the United States.

為了讓您對佐渡內海的規模有個概念，如果將它放在美國東北海岸上方。

It would stretch from Washington D.C. beyond New York City into southern Connecticut.

它將從華盛頓特區延伸到紐約市以外，一直到康乃狄克州南部。

There's also around 700 separate smaller islands that can be found dotted all across the Sado Inland Sea as well, several of them complete with their own incredible deep natural harbors that provided abundant safe anchorage and stopovers for ships during storms, which made the whole body of water perfect for early maritime trade during the ancient and medieval eras.

佐渡內海還散佈著大約 700 個獨立的小島，其中一些島嶼擁有令人驚嘆的深水天然港口，在風暴期間為船隻提供了充足的安全錨地和停靠點，這使得整個水域非常適合古代和中世紀的早期海上貿易。

The sea also provides a moderating effect on the regional climate around it, to the extent that it's often referred to as Japan's Mediterranean.

該海域也對周邊地區的氣候產生了調節作用，甚至被譽為日本的地中海。

An area with year round warm temperatures that supports year round navigation and agriculture.

這裡全年氣溫溫暖，支持全年航行和農業。

During pre industrial times in Japan, building roads across Japan's mountainous terrain to connect disparate flat areas together was extremely difficult.

在日本工業化之前，要在崎嶇的山地建造道路以連接各地零散的平坦區域，是非常困難的。

But the calm waters of the Sado Inland Sea provided a critical alternative for much easier and efficient sea based transportation.

不過，佐渡內海平靜的海水提供了一個關鍵的替代方案，讓海上運輸更加輕鬆有效率。

Instead, even better, at the eastern edge of the sea, the presence of Awaji island created the even further enclosed Osaka Bay within it directly connected to the huge flat area of the Kenai Plain in the interior.

相反地，更棒的是，在海的東緣，淡路島的存在創造了更進一步封閉的大阪灣，並直接連接到內陸廣闊的紀伊平原。

Thus, from early on within Japan's history, the Seido Inland Sea became the critical maritime trade artery that connected the Kenai Plain and the Osaka Bay and all the other areas around its shorelines with a rest of Honshu to the east, including the Nobi and Kanto Plains with their own ideal harbors, and

是以，在日本歷史早期，佐渡內海就成為了連接紀伊平原、大阪灣及其周圍海岸地區與東部本州其他地區（包括擁有理想港口的美濃和平原和關東平原）的關鍵海上貿易動脈，

with mainland Asia and Korea further to the west.

以及更西邊的亞洲大陸和韓國。

All of this huge trade volume flowing through it transformed the Seido Inland Sea into the wealthiest area of Japan for centuries, which encouraged settlement around it and which in particular directly contributed to the massive population growth in the Kenai Plain that gave rise to Japan's early political center in Kyoto and what eventually became the mega port city of Osaka.

所有這些巨大的貿易量流經此地，使佐渡內海數百年來成為日本最富裕的地區，鼓勵了周邊的定居，並特別促進了紀伊平原龐大的人口增長，催生了日本早期的政治中心京都以及後來發展成為巨型港口城市大阪。

For centuries, it was Osaka that was the economic epicenter of Japan.

數百年來，大阪一直是日本的經濟中心。

by the time of the Tokugawa Shogunate, all of Japan's feudal lords known as Daimyo, had established an office in the city that were known as Ozakaya Shiki, which were among the earliest forms of banks in Japan, which further reinforced Osaka's early importance.

到了德川幕府時期，日本所有被稱為「大名」的封建領主，都在該市設立了被稱為「大阪屋敷」的辦公室，這是日本最早期的銀行形式之一，進一步鞏固了大阪早期的重要性。

And by the time of the industrial age, the other cities around the Seido Inland Sea, like Kobe, Okayama, Takamatsu, Fukuyama, Hiroshima and Kita Kyushu, all developed into major industrial shipping and naval centers as well, carrying over the Seido Inland Sea's importance into the modern era and further solidifying the population concentration within what would become known as the Taihyo Belt that runs directly across it.

到了工業時代，佐渡內海周邊的其他城市，如神戶、岡山、高松、福山、廣島和北九州，也都發展成為主要的工業運輸和海軍中心，將佐渡內海的重要性延續到現代，並進一步鞏固了人口集中在後來被稱為太平洋帶的區域內。

After the Tokugawa Shogunate managed to largely unify Japan in the early 17th century, the Shoguns decided to establish the seat of their power away from the historical Imperial capital at Kyoto, towards the east at Edo, within the larger Kanto Plan Plain.

德川幕府在 17 世紀初大致統一日本後，幕府決定將權力中心設在京都歷史上的皇都之外，向東遷移到關東平原內部的江戶。

One of the most profound impacts on Japan's human geography and population pattern that has ever happened.

這是日本人類地理和人口格局史上最深遠的影響之一。

The Shoguns relocated their administrative center to Edo, which would later be renamed to Tokyo, during the 19th century, in order to distance themselves from the Emperor and Japan's traditional nobility in Kyoto, so that they wouldn't be overshadowed by them.

幕府將行政中心遷至江戶（後來改名為東京），是在十九世紀，目的是為了與京都的天皇和日本傳統貴族保持距離，以免被他們的光芒所掩蓋。

While they also saw the potential for rapid urban development in the large and expansive Kanto Plain that was still fairly underdeveloped by the time of the early 17th century.

同時，他們也看到了當時仍相對欠發達的廣闊關東平原，有著快速都市發展的潛力。

At that time, Edo was nothing but a small castle town that was probably only home to a few tens of thousands of people.

那時候，江戶只是一個小小的城鎮，人口可能只有幾萬人。

But within only a century of Tokugawa's Shogunate rule, with Edo as their de facto capital, by around 1700, its population had exploded to more than a million people, which transformed it from a small town into one of the largest cities in the world within only a couple of lifetimes.

但在德川幕府統治下的一百年內，江戶成為事實上的首都，到了約 1700 年，人口已激增至一百多萬，在短短兩代人的時間裡，它就從一個小鎮轉變為世界上最大的城市之一。

Fueling this enormous growth of people in Edo and the Kanto Plain and elsewhere along the modern Taiheo Belt during the Tokugawa era was the Shogunate centuries long policy that was known as Sankenko Tai, which required all of Japan's feudal lords or daimyo, to alternate living between their domain and Edo every other year.

驅動德川時代江戶及關東平原，以及現代太平洋帶沿線地區人口的巨大增長，是幕府長達數百年的「參勤交代」政策，這項政策要求日本所有封建領主或大名，每隔一年輪流居住在自己的領地和江戶。

The hundreds of daimyo at any given time in Japan were forced by this policy to maintain a lavish residence both at their homes and in the Shogun's capital at Edo.

當時日本的數百名大名，被迫在這項政策下，在家鄉和幕府首都江戶都維持一處奢華的宅邸。

And every other year when the daimyo moved back and forth between them, they were forced to undergo expensive and lavish processions with their full entourages.

而每隔一年他們往返於兩地時，都必須進行昂貴且盛大的儀仗隊遊行。

For the Shogun, the policy was a deliberate strategy to force the daimyos and their families into a state of surveillance in the capital.

對於幕府將軍來說，這項政策是迫使大名及其家人在首都受到監視的策略。

While the extreme financial burden of maintaining lavish mansions in both locations and moving back and forth between them every other year was both time and money that they couldn't spend on plotting to overthrow the Shogun.

同時，維持兩地奢華宅邸並每隔一年往返一次的巨大財政負擔，耗費了他們無法用於密謀推翻幕府將軍的時間和金錢。

字幕列表影片播放

為什麼日本大多數人只住在一條小小的線裡？ (Why Most Japanese Just Live In This Small Line)

entire

incredible

average

brilliant