Establishment and Function of Dispersed Settlements

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis is to clarify the location of dispersed settlenents and the regional peculiarities of the residential system by analysing the function of the settements in the Hikawa Plain.1. The most important function of the dispersed settlements is to situate the cottage at the centre of the cultivated land where the agricultural management is easily done.2. What promoted establishment of a ‘settlement’ is largely due to the factors related to the natural environment. It is necessary to live as near as possible to the cultivated land for the conveniences of the agricultural labor. For example the threshing in the field is imposible due to the moisture of the land and the drain of rice has to be done around the cottage on account of rain, because in this district they have a rainy season at the time of harvest. Besides, the flooding of the Hii River and the danger of the fire to be spread around by seasonal wind certainly did stimulate the dispersion of residence.3. What gave conveniences to the dispersed settlements can be traced to the island-like highland slightly risen from the paddy-field quite favorable for the manor land. Another powerful factor is that communities are so loosely knitted since they came to be settled there not in groups but in individuals.4. In the early days when the land was newly cultivated, the settlements had been formed in aggromations here and there on the natural levee and along the highland, but the residential system came to show a different type of new adaptation in accordance with the enormous increase of the production and the population. It is on the back-marsh and edge of the delta (newly cultivated land) that the dispersed settlements were first established. The role which the geographic envionment played in the growth of the residential system vary according to place and time.The people of the rural communities, in general, have made great efforts to adapt themselves to the geographic environment and made best use of the geographic environment within their ower. The residential system is being carried on because they think that it is the most convenient system to carry on their productive activities. This is reflected in the whole peculiarities on the area even in terms of landscape.