Academic research on disaster recovery in isolated villages in hilly and mountainous areas involving pre-disaster risk reduction

日本国土面积的70%被划为“丘陵和山区”。这些地区的许多小村庄正在迅速老龄化，人口减少。此外，许多村庄在发生自然灾害时很有可能被孤立。必须在任何灾难发生之前采取措施，在这些村庄建立社区力量，以便促进灾后恢复进程。这项研究采用了多方面的方法，包括民族学、社会学、金融学、建筑学和其他领域的因素。这一综合办法的目的是在山区和丘陵地区的村庄发生灾害之前发现减少危险的有用标准。特别是，我们试图重新发现和使用传统的智慧和手段来管理村庄，称为“民间机制”，作为重建社区力量的一种方式。

Seventy percent of the land mass of Japan is designated "hilly and mountainous areas." Many of the small villages in these areas are rapidly aging and becoming depopulated. Also, many of the villages have a high risk of becoming isolated in the event of a natural disaster. Measures to build up community strength in these villages must be taken before any disaster occurs with a view toward facilitating the post-disaster recovery process. This study takes a multifaceted approach that includes factors from ethnology, sociology, finance, architecture, and other fields. This comprehensive approach is directed at discovering useful criteria for reducing risk prior to a disaster occurring in the villages in hilly and mountainous areas. In particular, we sought to rediscover and use traditional wisdom and devices employed in the running of the villages, called "folk mechanisms ," as a way to rebuild community strength.