It is the intention of this paper to depict the place of human dwelling as it is, based on an analysis of the novel Ashikari. Tanizaki Jun'ichiro said that he was inspired to write Ashikari by his love of the views of Ogura-ike, Yodo-gawa, and Minase. The intimate relationship between the place and human being is here considered in the light of an interpretation of the use and significance of these three locations in the novel. It is suggested that natural topography holds meanings latent within itself, and that these meanings are grasped by one's subjective experience of places.
