Abstract

Atarashiki mura, a utopian village founded by the writer Mushanokōji Saneatsu in 1918 and relocated from Miyazaki Prefecture (Kyūshū) to Moroyama (Saitama Prefecture) in 1938/39, con¬tinues to operate on its original ideology until today – a really astonishing fact. Among the many utopian movements in the West and the East at the beginning of the 20th century – e.g. the famous Monte Verità in Switzerland – it is the only one still existing after more than 90 years! This paper examines the intellectual background of the founder, the process of establishing the settlement and the principles of living and working together.