An Exploratory Study on Creating Well-being-focused Communities: Perspectives from Embodied Cognition and Place Branding

This master's thesis explores how intrinsic well-being emerges from embodied experiences in local environments and how such experiences contribute to sustainable regional revitalization.

Drawing on phenomenology, embodied cognition, ecological psychology, and place branding, the research examines how bodily and sensory interactions with local landscapes generate emotional synchrony among residents and foster shared meanings of place.

Through qualitative case studies conducted in Nishiaizu Town (Fukushima Prefecture) and the Kagamigawa watershed region in Kochi Prefecture, this research investigates how intrinsic well-being—arising from the fulfillment of autonomy, competence, and relatedness (Ryan & Deci, 2000)—supports long-term community engagement and collaborative local governance.

The study proposes that emotional synchrony generated through shared embodied experiences functions as a mediating process that re-aligns values among residents, newcomers, and return migrants. This process contributes to the formation of resilient local ecosystems characterized by reciprocal relationships among people, nature, and everyday practices.

By shifting the focus of regional revitalization from economic indicators to lived experiences and embodied meaning-making, this research offers a new perspective on how communities can sustain themselves in the context of population decline and aging societies.