How gentle power enables community-based conservation: hydrosocial practices and institutional support in Tokyo’s satoyama

Power dynamics significantly influence environmental governance outcomes, yet mechanisms between coercive top-down control and purely voluntary participation remain undertheorized. This study proposes “gentle power” as an analytical concept and examines its functions through a case study looking into 40 years of satoyama conservation in Tokyo’s Zushi-Onoji area, employing document analysis and participant observation. Satoyama landscapes exemplify the hydrosocial cycle, where water physically connects forest-wetland-paddy mosaics while being shaped by generations of human management. Local water management and environmental maintenance (e.g., adjustments of paddy field water levels and temperatures) have sustained biodiversity by supporting the reproductive cycles of amphibians and insects, while mitigating methane emissions. Analysis reveals that gentle power enables institutional bricolage through three integrated functions: knowledge integration (legitimizing traditional ecological knowledge through demonstrated effectiveness), institutional transformation (achieving bottom-up policy change through strategic engagement with existing frameworks), and adaptive sustainability (maintaining conservation through flexible role adjustment amid demographic change). These findings suggest that gentle power offers an alternative pathway for community-based conservation, one grounded in mutual trust, demonstrated expertise, and collaborative learning.