The co-operative research of the social structure of the cities and the self-government of residents in Japan

本研究以分析日本名为Chonai-kai的民居协会为中心课题。因为在当代日本随处可见，在居民的社区生活中有着不可替代的功能。第一个课题是获取史料，通过史料分析村镇社团的产生和发展。我们认识到，邻里协会“chonai”诞生于中世纪末期的老都会京都，具有相当大的居民区自治能力，并成长为真正的城市社区。但在前现代国家政权统一日本后，“朝内会”被其统治，丧失了大部分的自治能力。然而，这种统治权力需要“朝内”社团的协助来管理居家事务，因此正式承认了他们的组织，并依靠他们的自治能力。近代明治时代到来后，“朝内”社团失去了官方地位，以“朝内”社团的小地方性社团的形式存在。在第二次世界大战期间，日本军事当局将它们用作法西斯制度的最低级别单位。二战后，日本经济取得了惊人的发展，尤其是在城市地区，经历了社会的瓦解。由于人口流动和社会组织的瓦解，大多数“朝乃凯”社团的功能都有所减弱。然而，与此同时，在新的住宅区内也出现了新的“朝内凯”协会。总的来说，“朝内凯”协会是日本真正的居民社区的孵化器。

This research made it the central subject to analyse the residential association called "chonai-kai" in Japan. For the "chonai-kai" is found anywhere in contemporary Japan and has inevitable functions in the community life of the residents. The first subject is to get the historical materials and to analyse by those the birth and growth of the town and neighborhood associations. We recognize that the neighborhood association "chonai" was born at the end of the medieval times in the old metropolis Kyoto and had the considerable competences of the residential self-governmemt and grew to the true community of the city. But after the pre-modern state power unified Japan,"chonai" association was ruled by it and lost most of the self- governmental competences. That ruling power,howerer,necessitated the assistance of "chonai" associations to administrate the residential and domestic matters ,so recognized their organizations officially and depended on their self-governmetal competences.And after the modern times Meiji era came,"chonai" associations lost the official position and survived as the little regional associations called "chonai-kai". During the World War II, Japanese military authorities utilized them as lowest units of the Fascism system. After the World War II, Japanese have achieved the marvelous development of economy and have experienced the social dis-organization especially in the urban areas. Most of "chonai-kai" associations decrease their functions by the population movement and the social dis-organization. At the same time,however,"chonai-kai"associations have been newly born in the new housing estates.Speaking generaly, "chonai-kai"associations are the incubator of the true community of residents in Japan.