THE NEW GEOGRAPHY

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This paper examines various types of settlement formation theory and how the teaching of settlements should proceed in the future. First, though research started in the 1970s that today shows there never was a jori settlement, this settlement is still being taught as an example of settlement formation in most current high school study guides. In fact, it continues to be treated as Japan’s first planned agglomerated settlement. Another example is the myth of the Onden-hyakushou settlement. An oral tradition tells us this settlement was formed by defeated warriors who fled to the mountains and took up farming. This story which was passed down orally over generations has no basis in historical facts. A further example is the Tonden militia settlement. This settlement is taught as an example of a constructed township, but that is simply a mistake. Settlement formation theory appeared in the 1920s as a tentative classification. Yet it continues to be used and studied today despite a lack of academic research and scholarly debate. Further, this theory focuses on farming settlements, but in fact there are settlements in mountainous, coastal, and others areas not dependent on farming. This theory, despite so many problems, continues to be taught and studied even today, though it is clearly unsuitable for high school geography education. This theory is much less common in government approved textbooks, than in prep school study guides. Such study guides, however, are often published by the same companies that publish the textbooks, and settlement formation theory usually appears in the accompanying teacher’s manuals. It also is not uncommon to be seen this theory in university entrance exam questions. The teaching of settlement formation theory should be revised immediately and a replacement curriculum should be urgently studied. I assert that settlements should be studied under the framework of environmental history or in terms of occupation or local industry to better reflect the topographical or geographical variety of different settlements. It is important to teach high school students correctly about traditional settlements，as well as having them learn about changes that have occurred as a result of rapid economic growth.

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