殖民地都市邊界的重構：日治時期草山別莊地帶的形成

Reconfiguring Colonial Urban Boundaries: Formation of Sozan Villa District in Japanese Colonial Taiwan

本文探討日治時期臺北草山地區從山地林野轉變為都市近郊別莊地的歷史過程，透過都市史與環境史的跨領域視角，分析臺灣總督府如何透過制度建構、空間規畫與資本動員，系統性地重塑地方空間的功能與社會階層屬性。
草山的轉型奠基於三大支柱。首先是土地產權的確立。1913年草山公共浴場設立後，原屬在地家族的土地逐步被在臺日人及臺灣土地建物株式會社收購，地方政府亦積極購地，完成空間開發的資本與制度條件。其次是公園化與都市計畫的治理策略。從1920年梅谷光貞的構想到1928年本多靜六的規畫，草山被定位為臺北的大公園。1935年〈草山市區計畫〉將此地視為都市設施，1937年大屯國立公園的設立更顯示國立公園亦是都市發展戰略的環節。第三，草山別莊區的樣態深受日本本土避暑文化與黑谷了太郎的「山林都市」理念影響。1941年《臺北都市計畫地域設定說明書》將草山定位為「高級住宅地」，以政策文件確認其居民以都市中上階級為主的階層特徵。
草山地區的轉型體現了都市邊界從「地理連續性」轉向「功能連結性」的典範轉移。透過交通連結、功能互補與生活圈整合，草山雖與市中心保持距離，卻成為臺北都市系統不可分割的一環。本文挑戰了「都市—鄉村」及「開發—保育」的二元對立框架，為理解東亞殖民地都市化提供重要參照。

This article examines the transformation of the Sozan area in Taipei from mountainous forestland into a suburban villa district during the Japanese colonial period. Adopting an interdisciplinary approach that integrates urban and environmental history, it analyzes how the Government-General of Taiwan systematically reconfigured the area’s spatial functions and social stratification through institutional consolidation, spatial planning, and capital mobilization.
The transformation rested on three interrelated pillars. First, the consolidation of land rights provided the essential foundation. Following the opening of the Sozan Public Bathhouse in 1913, land ownership gradually shifted from local lineages to Japanese residents and the Taiwan Land and Building Co., Ltd., thereby establishing the institutional and financial basis for subsequent development. Second, colonial governance strategies centered on park development and urban planning. From Umetani Mitsusada’s 1920 proposal to Honda Seiroku’s 1928 plan, Sozan was envisioned as a“grand park”for Taipei. The 1935 Sozan Urban Plan formally designated the area as an urban facility, while the establishment of Daiton National Park in 1937 further incorporated it into a broader metropolitan framework. Third, the villa district’s spatial character was shaped by Japanese summer retreat culture and Kuroya Ryotaro’s“Forest City”ideals. The 1941 Taipei Urban Planning Zoning Specification classified Sozan as a“high-end residential area,”explicitly aligning its development with the lifestyle aspirations of the urban upper-middle class in colonial Taiwan.
Sozan’s evolution exemplifies a paradigm shift in colonial urban boundaries from“geographical continuity”to“functional connectivity.”Through transportation linkages and functional complementarity, the area became an integral part of Taipei’s urban system despite its physical distance from the city center. This study challenges the binary oppositions of“urban-rural”and“development-conservation,”offering key insights into colonial urbanization in East Asia.