Village - Shuraku

It refers to an area where houses are gathered together, which is the base of human habitation. The original meaning of the word settlement is settling on land, and a settlement is the base of human life and the base area of ​​human social life. Therefore, in addition to being a collection of houses, a settlement also includes the base of life and production (farmland, forests, fishing grounds, public facilities, etc.). In the narrow sense, settlement refers to rural settlements (villages), but in the broad sense, it also includes cities. Villages are divided into clustered villages and scattered villages based on their form. Clustered villages are reclassified into remura, road villages, town villages, sparse villages, clustered villages, and round villages. Based on the process of their formation, settlements are divided into old villages, new field villages (pioneer villages, garrison soldier villages), parent villages (main villages, former villages), and child villages (branch villages). In the case of pioneer villages, the name of the main village is used to indicate their origin, and some are named after the pioneer who started the settlement. Based on their function, villages are classified as farming villages, fishing villages, and forestry villages (mountain villages). There are many intermediate types that cannot be clearly classified, and are called agricultural and mountain villages or semi-agricultural and semi-fishing villages. Based on the topography of their location, villages are divided into flatland villages, mountain villages, and coastal villages (coast villages). In geography, the field that studies settlements is called "settlement geography," and when it specifically studies cities, it is called "urban geography."

[Yukio Asaka]

"Settlements and Geography" by Michitoshi Odauchi (1927, Kokin Shoin)" ▽ "Studies on the Geography of Japanese Settlements" by Shigeki Muramatsu (1962, Minerva Shobo) ▽ "Japanese Settlements" by Niyoshi Yajima (1967, Kokin Shoin)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

人間の居住の本拠である家の集まっている地域をいう。集落の本来の語意は土地への定着をいうのであり、集落は人間生活の本拠、そして人間の営む社会生活の拠点地域である。したがって、集落は住家の集まりであることに加えて、その生活や生産の基盤地域（耕地、林野、漁場、それに公共施設など）をも含めていう。狭義の集落は農村的集落（村落）をいうが、広義の場合には都市も含めている。村落は形態上から集村と散村に分けられる。集村は列村、路村、街村、疎(そ)村、塊(かい)村、円村などに再分類される。集落はその形成過程から古村、新田村（開拓村、屯田兵村）、親村（本村(ほんむら)、元村）、子村（枝村）などに分け、開拓村の場合は本村の名を冠してその出自を示し、また開拓発頭者名を冠しているものがある。また、機能上からは農村、漁村、林業村（山村）に分類される。これははっきり分類できない中間型のものが多く、農山村、半農半漁村などとよばれる。立地する地形上からは平地村、山村、臨海村（海岸村）に分けている。地理学では集落を研究する分野を「集落地理学」、またとくに都市を研究する場合には「都市地理学」とよんでいる。

［浅香幸雄］

『小田内通敏著『集落と地理』（1927・古今書院）』▽『村松繁樹著『日本集落地理の研究』（1962・ミネルヴァ書房）』▽『矢嶋仁吉著『日本の集落』（1967・古今書院）』

出典　小学館　日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)について　情報 | 凡例