A social geography of the social structure of a dispersed village

The author took up the old Takanosu village in Toyama Prefecture as a typical example of dispersed settlement. The purpose of this article is to explain the social structure and characteristics of dispersed village from a spacial view point. The author first surveyed the process of social formation, and analyzed the relations between main factors-the irrigation system, the distribution of kinship and the system of farm mangement-and the social structure. The second proposition was the effects of the territorial characteristics, especially of the characteristics as a dispersed village, to the spacial formation and the social structure. The results were the followings: (A) As the characteristics of spacial structure with the rural community, we can make mention of the followings. (1) The second area, “mura” community, is the most essential and complete area in the rural community. It originally regulates the conditions of the first area (lower unit). (2) The latter acguires an autonomy in the process that it performs the role to facilitate and strengthen the former's social unity, especially it promotes the tendency that this village is large. But the boundary of the it's area is fluid. (3) The constitution of social area is loose and divisible. (4) It issues from the territorial heterogeneity of the area to divide the “mura” into two parts, eastern and western. At the same time, it is a system to strengthen the unit of “mura” community. (B) As the social characteristics, we can make mention of the followings. (1) The disunionism or anti-centralism is remarkable. (2) The social relations by neighbourhood are excellent, consequently the social combination and unity are feeble and fluid. (3) The system concentrating their arable land about their houses did not refuse the existence of “mura community(_??__??__??__??__??_)”, butit's unity is feeble on account of the preceding reasons. (4) A characteristic in this region, a fixed right of tenant farmer, results that the ruling class'es force is relatively weak. (C) The preceding social characteristics are founded on the disunionism that originally is rooted to their settlement system, the dispersion of the houses, of which the excellent trait is the solid relation between house and arable land. At the same time, we can't deny that the regonal characteristics are reflected on the preceding factors. They are that this village is irrigated by a big river which is constructed by the technics in modern age and possess