no43-49

[47] Study on the transformation of“Sotobori space”(vicinity space of outer moat) and the formation of urban areas in the process of modernization of Japanese castle town cities

- A case study of Mito castle town -

○Masahide Hirato¹, Naoto Nakajima², Masayoshi Nagano² (1. Mito City, 2. The University of Tokyo)

Keywords:Moat, Japanese castle town, Mito city, Urban improvement, Modernization

This study reveals the relationship between the transformation of “Sotobori space”(the vicinity space of outer moats) and the formation of urban areas in Japanese castle towns. In many cities, outer moats have been landfilled and turned into urban areas since the Meiji era, but there are still remnants of them in some places. In Mito city, even though Sotobori space played important roles as the site of the 1887 urban improvement, some portions of it remains. This study describes in detail the history of the moat reclamation in the urban improvement and how the Sotobori space has changed to the present day and what role the space played in the modernization of the city.