Social Networks among Noto Satoyama Satoumi Meisters and their Impacts on Meisters’ Values and Behaviors

The purposes of this research are to describe the structure of a social network of people related to the Noto Satoyama Satoumi （landscapes and seascapes） Meister （master） Training Program and to investigate the effect of the social network on their values and behaviors. This program, provided by Kanazawa University and local governments, aims to develop the human skills of people in Noto Peninsula. This study uses the results of a questionnaire survey replied to by meisters. The interesting results of this study are threefold. First, a small number of people play an important role as a hub in the social network. They have a high degree of centrality, which means that they are linked with many meisters and related people. Second, not only meisters but also other staff members of the program are included in the social network. Some of them occupy important positions in the network. Third, compared to the meisters with a nil degree of centrality, the meisters with a higher degree of centrality tend to change their own values and behaviors through interactions with other members in the social network. In particular, their sense of values related to a rural lifestyle is likely to change. We conclude that the impacts of the social network related to the program on meisters are significant and summarized by the following three concepts: provision of knowledge and techniques; expansion of the range of people’s interests; and creation of cooperative opportunities. The social network related to the program plays a critical role in fostering meisters’ activities and shaping the future of Noto peninsula.