Chapter 2 Community-based water management practices in Japan

The Japanese culture has many meanings and proverbs associated with the word “water.” “Water” could mean “clear,” “clean,” “beautiful,” and “life.” Water is valuable to people in that it is used for drinking, cooking, washing, and fishing. On the flip side, water is a cause of disaster. Thus, people use water for survival, as well as fight with water during disasters. Because of the many uses of water, people developed a rule for water utilization. This rule cultivated trust in the community. However, infrastructure development (e.g., water supply system, dikes, and road networks), the promotion of washing machines, and social advancement changed the role of the water area from just a flowing stream, which can be simply likened to a sewer, to an important component of infrastructure.