A STUDY OF URBAN MORPHOLOGY OF JAPANESE COLONIAL TOWNS IN NAN'YO GUNTO

Part 4 Natsujima, Truk islands

Abstract

Natsujima (Tonoas) in the Truk (Chuuk) Islands was the geographical center of Japanese Micronesia (Nan'yo Gunto) where the original administrative headquarters was established in 1914. Without any large-scale industries, Japanese population in Truk remained small for years. However, conditions drastically changed after the mid-1930s when the Navy began to fortify the islands as the chief naval base in the Pacific for World War Two. This paper examines the Japanese settlement process in Truk and the urban morphology of Natsujima as well as the life of Japanese and Trukese in Natsujima-cho, during prewar and early wartime years. It also discusses the features of bonito fishery bases operated by Okinawans in small and dispersed settlements in Truk.