A traditional rural community with newcomers is a transitional form before it develops into a mature community. If the old and new rules are integrated, and the old and new residents understand and accept each other, this mixture will become a community of harmony. Of late, this new form of community has been spreading all over the country as people have started showing favourable attitudes towards agriculture and rural areas.
For the three years 1981 to 1983, our team conducted surveys in three local authorities: Kakegawa in Shizuoka prefecture, Inazawa in Aichi prefecture and Shinjo in Nara prefecture, and the results conformed that noted above. The common feature which was found in these three study areas is residents' positive attitudes towards changing themselves, in order to make their community more active and more co-operative, rather than being just a cluster of people living together.
This positive attitude leads to the organisation of new events. Creating new events therefore will be a very important device to make the mixed community a community of harmony.