The biological diversity and ecotone functions of lagoons, known as naiko or sekiko in Japanese,surrounding Lake Biwa or Japan Sea, are now being reassessed. For humans, the significance of suchwaterside ecotone has been as a"place with an abundance of fauna". In this study, I examinetraditional living activities of people and the use of natural resources of the lagoons, and discuss the impact that these have on the ecosystem of the littoral zone. The findings outlined in this article are based on fieldwork carried out around Hachiro-gata and many naikos. We find an ecosystem developed around the lagoon that incorporated the living activities of humans, whereby the diverse use of natural resources of the lagoon by humans developed a circular system.The fact that the littoral zone such as lagoon is"secondary nature"demonstrates that for thepreservation of this type of waterside ecotone in the future, rather than avoiding human interference and leaving the environment to its own devices, it is important to ensure appropriate level of human involvement and management. Lifestyles of the people and resource usage datums accumulated for many years in the region should be used as a valuable index in the appropriate usage and management of the littoral zone in the future, and in the recovery of these regions through ecological engineering. Andhistorical research into the long-term dynamics of"nature"is essential to understanding the natural conditions that should be preserved and revitalized, and to clarifying the goals for such restoration.