THE TERRITORIAL ASPECTS OF IRONMAKING SETTLEMENT

The Izumo region had been a centre of Tatara ironworks until 1920’s. The ironmaking industry involved two social groups; ‘Sannai-mon’ the ironmaking communities lived in work-live settlements called Sannai, and ‘Jigesyu’ the farmers who supported the operation by supplying provisions and labors. The two groups developed different notions of self-identifications, which resulted in creating a socio-physiological boundary in between them. The scope of this article is to explore the multiple aspects of boundaries developed in Sannai. This article also intends to clarify the physical territory of Sannai which is depicted in historical materials.