CLASSIFICATION OF COASTAL RELIGIOUS FACILITIES AND THEIR DISTRIBUTION TRENDS

The present study focuses on the analysis of the nationwide distribution and trends of coastal religious facilities in Japan. These locations were classified according to five types of coastal line shapes, three types of planar locations, six types of cross-sectional shapes, six types of cross-sectional positions, and thirteen types of surrounding environments. The distribution trends were identified for each major sea area. Additionally, all combinations of location classifications were systematized, revealing a total of 578 possible combinations. As a result, it is clear that many of the facilities are located close to proximity to living area with no topography.