Abstract
Given the ages of communication to follow in the next century, this paper focuses on the immigration process of outsiders into mountainous communities in Japan by analyzing the notion of “habitant”. With Oguni Town, Kumamoto Prefeture as a case study area, illustration has been proposed to identify differences in types of habitants, such as inhabitants, semi-habitants and trans-habitants, from among those outsiders who practically reside in Oguni. The case study has contributed a great deal to the fostering and vitalization of these proposed notions. In conclusion further extensions have been suggested to improve their applicabilty and practicality, especially, related to vitalization of mountainous regions.
