Formation process and urban morphology of the early modern period port towns

Mainly on the coastal area of the Seto Inland Sea located on Honshu

Abstract

Studies of early modern towns in Japan have been conducted to grasp their history and culture. However, there are fewer studies on early modern port towns compared to castle towns. While it seems that there were early modern port towns with characteristic urban morphology in the coastal area of the Seto Inland Sea located on Honshu, where trade has been conducted since the Middle Ages, the fact of those urban morphology is not clear. The purpose of this study is to uncover formation process and urban morphology of early modern port towns mainly on the coastal area of the Seto Inland Sea located on Honshu. As a result of the analysis, there is a tendency that the early modern port towns faced both the sea and the river, and on the other hand, the landing places were oriented only toward the river.