Abstract
This paper is an empirical study on the commons of the Ike ward in Ito city of Shizuoka prefecture, which achieved regeneration of commons after its declination. In the study were carried out an “analysis of factors of regeneration” to explore the conditions for regeneration, an analysis of the approach taken by the residents in the design of institutions, and an “institutional analysis” in which the course of institutional changes and their achievements were examined. In carrying out the analyses, I hypothesized that the greatest “factor of success” for the commons of Ike ward was that “the residents of Ike ward were able to deal flexibly with economic and social changes in the local community by ‘learning’ about ‘law’.” Thus the verification of this hypothesis is indeed the main purpose of this paper.
In the consideration of the commons, I began with reconsidering anew what it is to “learn” about “law.” In this paper, the “learning” process of the residents is reviewed, based not on education by methods of teaching by guidance (pedagogy) such as in schools, but on the concept of “education” called “andragogy,” which has the meaning of “adult education.” This analysis demonstrated that “learning” about “law” by the residents is necessary in order to regenerate a declining common, providing a suggestion for the commons in other regions which are aiming at regeneration.
