【愛媛・今治】不法占拠なるバラック地帯を歩く　愛媛県今治市 [Ehime, Imabari] Walking through the illegally occupied shack area

【愛媛・今治】不法占拠なるバラック地帯を歩く　愛媛県今治市 [Ehime, Imabari] Walking through the illegally occupied shack area

This is within a river area, so the following actions are prohibited: Damaging rivers and rivers; building houses Installation of structures, entry of vehicles, illegal dumping Imabari City, Ehime Prefecture The Sosha River is a second-class river that flows through the center of Imabari City, Ehime Prefecture. In the downstream area, illegally occupied shacks stand in rows. Imabari City, located in the northeastern part of Ehime Prefecture, is a port town that prospered through towel manufacturing, sewing, and shipbuilding. The endless slum streets that stretch along the Aosha River are marked by unnaturally large vacant lots and illegal farms. The river basin is uninhabitable in terms of both sanitary conditions and location. It is said that the situation has continued to this day due to illegal occupation during the chaotic period after the war. Why do “illegally occupied areas,” which are supposed to be “unlivable,” form and then disappear? In postwar Japanese society, many of these areas were riverbanks, military bases, airfields, and other areas that were never meant for human habitation. They are formed in places that are not suitable for them.
Furthermore, many of those who live in such unstable areas He was a Korean resident in Japan who was socially excluded due to ethnic discrimination. As quoted, illegal occupations such as Utoro and Nakamura districts are mainly formed around military bases, airfields, and riverbanks. Most of the foreigners in the illegally occupied area were of Korean or North Korean nationality. In other words, it is not appropriate to call it a residential area for Korean residents in Japan. In many cases, branches of ethnic groups and religious facilities were located nearby, and there is no doubt that illegally occupied areas served as bases for these people. I walk along, glancing at the dilapidated abandoned house.
The occasional sound of a radio leaking in tells me that someone is still living there. Even in an abandoned house that was overgrown with weeds and seemed to be impossible for people to pass through, a delivery man got off his motorcycle and dropped off mail. It is commonplace to see refrigerators dismantled into pieces, haphazardly piled car tires, and CRT televisions being illegally dumped. It’s a common sight on the riverbank, but the area on the Aoya side is no exception, with many “junk collection” businesses being seen. The reason why riverside residents engaged in waste collection business was due to proximity to various waste generated in the city, Land was secured within the river area where collected items could be stored. In this way, the waste collection business is not only a way for riverside residents to earn cash income, It is believed that it also played an important social role in recycling various resources within the city. Many of them served as cheap labor, collecting junk and doing day labor to support the urban lower classes. Eighty years have passed since the end of the war, and the illegally occupied area of the Sosha River that formed during the postwar chaos has shrunk significantly. The number of illegally occupied properties, which was approximately 700 in 1975, has decreased to approximately 180 by 2024, including properties scheduled for demolition. Approximately 10 illegally occupied properties are demolished every year, and Japan’s largest slum road is gradually disappearing.

愛媛県今治市の中心部を流れる二級河川 〝蒼社川〟その下流域には不法占拠のバラックが立ち並んでいる。蒼社川沿いに延々とつづくバラックストリートには、不自然なほどぽっかり空いた空き地や違法な畑が目立つ。終戦後の混乱期に根付いた不法占拠エリアを歩く。

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＜参考文献＞
『「不法」なる空間に生きる』(著者／本岡拓哉　発行／大月書店)
『都市空間に潜む排除と反抗の力』(著者／野村敬志　発行／明石書店)

＜参照＞
https://www.mlit.go.jp/river/kankyo/main/kankyou/tashizen/pdf/r06/2-7_shiryo.pdf,令和6年度 全国 多自然川づくり会議,愛媛県土木部河川課,2025/07/08

The Sojira River, a second-class river flowing through the center of Imabari City, Ehime Prefecture.
Illegally occupied shacks line the river’s downstream basin.
The endless shack streets along the Sojira River are home to unnaturally large vacant lots and illegal farms.
I walk through an illegally occupied area that took root during the chaotic period following the war.

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