抄録
Before the Meiji-era, japanese rural communities generally owend their land and forest on common ownership of land. However, after the Meiji-era, the land and forest have been dissolved by state control; land-forest policy, local government system on modern ownership of land. And the land and forest were included in demesne of the state.
In this case study，in spite of control，the rural community has substantially owned its land and forest by the autonomous counterplots. (In this case study, I will call rural community “mura”.)
The aimes of this article are to examine the autonomous counterplots of “mura" in view of two points;
(1) the reorganization process of group in“mura" against the change of local government system: the reorganization from “Jige” to “Kyogi-kai” in the Meiji-era，the reorganization from “Kyogi-kai” to “Chonai-kai” in 1954.
(2) the claiming justice of landownership in the statute of group against the land-forest policy.
On this reorganization process in Meiji-era，“the equipment of territorial integrity", what we could call, grew out in“mura" under“the social condition" that the administrative district coincides with “mura".
This “equipment” made the administrative district like a “invisible cloak” to state control (land-forest policy). Though the administrative district legally owned the land and forest (demesne of the state)，“mura” reformed and avoided state control by this “equipment” behind the administrative district, had been able to substantially own its land and forest.
However, in 1954, the administrative district was incorporated into Tobacity. And with the change of local government system, “the social condition” disappeared, at the same time, “mura” lost “the equipment” and had to face state control with only the claiming justice of landownership. In other words, “mura” have to expose themselves potential crisis of landownership. And, in 1987，finally this crisis appeared. That is “the problem of landownership” between Toba city and “mura”.
Consequently, this case study indicates that the autonomous counterplots is the process of protecting the right of existence for “mura” deprived of public status and the protest against state control.
