Many studies of medieval Kokufu regarded the provincial constable's spatial control as a principal issue. They often equated spatial cognition, either of the provincial constable or of the town's people in opposition to it, with real spatial structure. Some studies concluded that provincial constables had reorganized ancient Kokufu into their provincial capitals, consequentially emphasizing the differences between medieval and ancient Kokufu.
However, it is more likely that people living in medieval Kokufu were separated by class and various occupations and powers, and that the interaction of these factors affected spatial form and structure. The actual space within medieval Kokufu did not always correspond to the intentions or conceptualizations of one actor like a provincial constable. Furthermore, referring to recent studies on ancient Kokufu, the heritage of the structure of ancient Kokufu may be an important component of medieval Kokufu.
This paper aims to reconstruct the morphology and function of Kokufu in the fourteenth century and to examine the social relationships among its people and to clarify the spatial structure, comparing it with ancient times. A medieval map is presented which illustrates a local power conceptualization of medieval Kokufu and the paper discusses the relationship between the real and perceived world. The example selected for this paper is Nagato Kokufu, which is shown on the medieval map, "Shrine Grounds Map of Iminomiya".
The second section of the paper shows the direction and pattern of roads and allotments and the distribution of facilities and then examines the transformation of local powers. The ancient frameworks of the structure of Kokufu, consisting of the pattern of roads, allotments and facilities were maintained until the fourteenth century. Moreover, the awareness of ancient Kokufu frameworks was also preserved, and in part was even strengthened. At that time, the central government was unstable because of the struggles between warriors and Emperors. The Iminomiya Shrine had always been given financial guarantees from the provincial constable, Shugo, and the Kamakura or Muromachi shogunates. The Iminomiya had inherited the powers and officials of the Kokuga, which succeeded the ancient Kokufu government. Kokubunji Temple, which was established during the eighth century but had declined, recovered its land, relying on the traditional power of the Emperors in the fourteenth century. Shugo, always closely related with Iminomiya, continued as an independent local power. The locational patterns of these important facilities were similar to those of departmental facilities in ancient times. Other social groups also enjoyed a close relationship with the central polity in Kamakura or Kyo.
In the third section of the paper, an analysis of the characteristics of the Shrine Grounds Map explains why and by whom the map was made, and how the map maker's spatial cognition was represented. It must be noted that Iminomiya is situated in the context of fourteenth-century political process. The characteristics of the Grounds Map undoubtedly show that it was made by Iminomiya. However, the map does not represent the whole real landscape; for example, some of the things that existed at that time do not appear in the map, some are emphasized and yet others are understated. This points out that the Grounds Map was intended to represent Iminomiya lands and the other facilities with which the Shrine was associated. The purpose of the map was to exhibit its territories to Shugo and to obtain the constable's protection, guarantee and tax exemption. Furthermore, the Grounds Map shows that the space of medieval Kokufu, as a squared world, was surrounded by mountains and sea;

View full abstract

The purpose of this paper is to clarify how and why the conservation of Kurazukuri buildings increased the number of tourists and re-vitalized a shopping street in Kawagoe City, Saitama Prefecture.
Kawagoe City is located about 30 Kilometers from the central part of Tokyo with a population in 1998 of 324, 879. Ichibangai Street was planned as an area for craftsmen and merchants about 300 years ago. Since then, Ichibangai Street continued to be the center of commerce in Kawagoe City. However, the center of commerce in Kawagoe moved to the south of the city in the early 1960s. This is mainly because Japanese National Railways and three private railways built terminals there, and supermarkets and department stores moved to or were newly-opened nearby. As a consequence, commercial activities in Ichibangai Street declined.
Fortunately, a lot of Kurazukuri style warehouses, houses, and stores with their invaluable historical heritage remained as the original buildings. These buildings were constructed to make them fire-proof structures after the great fire of 1893. Following the advice of external architects, the local administration and the inhabitants have become deeply committed to the conservation of these buildings.
The local administration took the following steps: 1) providing a subsidy for the restoration of buildings; 2) enforcing landscape regulations; 3) constructing small parks along the street; 4) laying a more attractive pavement; and 5) burying the electric power lines.
Inhabitants of Ichibangai Street organized the Kura-No-Kai (Association of Kurazukuri buildings) for the re-vitalization of commerce and conservation of Kurazukuri buildings. One more important action by the inhabitants was to design the Machinami Kihan (Standards for House Conservation) which is applied in the case of house restoration.
Today, many tourists visit Ichibangai Street with the number of people visiting Kawagoe amounting to 3.5 million persons per year. Visitors to the Kurazukuri Museum, for example, increased 3.6 times between 1982 and 1997. Tourists make up nearly 100per cent of the customers at shops in Kashiya Yokocho Street and tourists make up at least half of the customers at almost 40per cent of the shops in Ichibangai and Kanetsuki streets. Between 1975 and 1997, almost 60per cent of the shops changed their function, with restaurants and coffee shops for tourists especially increasing in number.
A large increase in consumption by tourists has resulted and shops and bustling streets have been re-vitalized. It follows that the inhabitants gained in confidence to conserve the Kurazukuri buildings and to maintain a landscape featuring a row of well-conserved buildings.

View full abstract