Abstract
This is a case study on individual reclamation in Kanagawa-shuku, aimed at understanding of the character of waterfront life and construction around coastline in the early modern period. The living space in Kanagawa-shuku has three-layered elements; firm land, new ground reclaimed from the sea and the sea by the coastline. People have been making the ground around the coastline gradually with the intention to use the waterside spaciously. At the same time, the ground around the coastline grew naturally with deposition and it was often washed away by storm or wild wave. The coastline had changed both naturally and artificially. It indicates that waterside development in the early modern period was strongly limited by natural condition and people made the most of the ground growing naturally, in order to improve their living space.
