Study focuses on local government formation process in Kawagoe City from Edo Period to Meiji Era

Abstract

This paper focuses on the process of local government formation, from the Edo Period to the Meiji Era, in Kawagoe City, which has its roots in a castle town at the end of the Edo Period, in order to discover regional formation for urban reorganization. The daiku-shoku system and Rengo-choson organized early-modern towns and villages in the Edo Period as self-governing organizations, but the mass amalgamations during the Meiji Era created municipalities, forming the basis of the current city sphere. These phases of Meiji Restoration were influenced by the topography of rivers and farmland, and the urban expansion of castle towns, which formed the organization. Although some of the landforms that functioned as boundaries of the organization disappeared owing to mergers and urban development after the Meiji Era, most of the elements have been inherited by the current city master plan districts. Accordingly, by organizing the process of regional formation, we have derived the gradual changes in consciousness that occurred under the circumstances of conversion from different organizations. In addition, by comparing the current and past situations, the inheritance of the historical background is presented.