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This book results from the collaborative efforts of seven sociologists engaged in community studies who have pursued research in different fields. The book has been designed as a textbook for advanced sociology courses.
 
Despite the numerous Japanese-language publications on the topic of community, this book uniquely captures the diverse interpretations of the term “community” and pays attention to the social assumptions and contexts in which they have been devised and utilized. It also focuses on the mechanisms of the creation and succession of different types of communities.
 
In the introduction, we outlined how sociologists have grappled with the fascinating yet challenging concept of community and presented the central issues that the sociology of community should address.
 
The book’s main body is divided into three sections, each containing three chapters. While noting the community’s structural multiplicity, we continued the discussion, citing contemporary cases and historical examples investigated by the authors.
 
Part 1, “Connecting,” illustrates three different facets of community. Chapter 1 focuses on the “ie” (house) and the “mura” (village), which consists of “ie,” and the communal nature that encompasses the entirety of life, including the relationship with the deceased. If we call this a “communal, indigenous community,” then the theme of Chapter 2 is a “collaborative, mediating community.” This network is not based on the lives of multiple generations but on common issues, themes, perceptions, and interests that emerge in everyday life. Chapter 3 sheds light on a “fluid, provisional community.” It describes how communities temporarily formed by people from diverse backgrounds function as places to belong or as informal safety nets through shared work and dwellings.
 
Part 2, “Tracing,” clarifies how the concept of community has become embedded in Japanese society. Chapter 4 focuses on reorganizing local communities within the larger framework of the nation-state and the role of the media and public events in this process. This has also resulted in crises for communal and indigenous communities. Chapter 5 examines the initiatives made during the Taisho and early Showa periods to create collaborative and intermediary communities among people who migrated to urban areas and lived solitary lives through urban planning and social work systems. Numerous initiatives have been made to organize communities; however, around 1970, this kind of activity witnessed a surge. Chapter 6 discusses the concepts of this period, crossing over fields such as local governments, social welfare, urban planning, and architecture.
 
Part 3, “Creating,” focuses on the mechanisms by which communities are generated and reproduced. This analysis examines the concept of the “commons,” denoting shared resources and the systems for managing and using them. Chapter 7 highlights the ecosystem, Chapter 8 focuses on the home, and Chapter 9 examines the festival as instances of the commons. Despite their apparent differences, they all share one thing in common: they are resources maintained and passed on through people’s continuous efforts. Notably, rather than simply maintaining and passing on resources with the community as the leading actor, the mechanism for maintaining and passing on resources is the foundation of a community’s existence, presenting a paradox. A close observation of the interdependent relationship between communities and commons reveals a combination of multiple aspects of communities, which we have named communal and indigenous, collaborative and mediating, and fluid and provisional.
 
This book aims to convey to the reader the significance of a multilayered approach to the sociology of communities. In other words, it involves accepting the structural ambiguity of communities without limiting them to a single aspect. It also involves observing the dynamics of communities and attempting to understand the mechanisms that make them. Furthermore, we must continue to ask why people are driven to engage in the activities and narratives surrounding communities. By engaging in these tasks, we will obtain the competency to use the word “community,” which at first glance seems convenient; however, in some respects, is boring and dangerous. We hope that this book will serve as a guide on this path.
 

(Written by SUKENARI Yasushi, Associate Professor, Graduate School of Humanities and Sociology / 2024)