Kotoni Tondenhei Village Site and Barracks, Military settlement site in Kotoni, Japan
Kotoni Tondenhei Village Site is a historic settlement with preserved barracks and structures dating to the 1870s, built for soldier-farmers and their families. The grounds include residential buildings, storage facilities, and administrative areas that illustrate how this military-agricultural community was organized and operated.
The Tondenhei system began in 1873 as a policy to settle samurai families in Hokkaido while strengthening Japanese control of the northern region. This combination of military service and agricultural work represented an innovative approach to both development and defense that reshaped settlement patterns.
The barracks show how military families lived together in a structured community, using traditional Japanese home features adapted for military purposes. Walking through the buildings, you notice the blend of domestic comfort and military order in their daily spaces.
The site sits close to Kotoni Station on the Tozai Subway Line, making it accessible by public transport from the city center. Pathways connect the buildings and informational signs explain the layout and purpose of the settlement structures.
The settlement was originally planned with nearly 200 houses and represents one of the first systematic examples of Japanese colonization in 19th-century Hokkaido. Visitors can see the nearly unchanged layout of residential blocks that reveals how planners organized the community from the ground up.
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