日治時期的臺灣美術，常見以「裏町」（うらまち）或「裏通」（うらどおり）為題，描繪後街或巷弄風貌的作品。歷屆臺展與府展，即有不少此類畫作。所謂「裏町」是指非臨路的街區，大約為中文「後街」之意；「裏通」則大致意指「巷弄」或「小路」。是以，在當時藝術家的審美目光注視下，此類本地的巷弄風情，已成為美學表現的重要題材。相對於街道或地標式景觀，作為城市面貌之「裏」的巷弄，大致較具本土特色，且貼近於一般庶民生活。就此而言，這類創作或可視為一種「地方色彩」之展現。然而，此時期的巷弄美學除反映出本土性與庶民性之外，其創作主體與再現客體之間的關係，究竟具有何種結構特質？這些藝術家是以「漫遊者」的眼光在看待巷弄中的人事景物嗎？此外，日治時期臺灣文學中，對於後街或巷弄的描寫，是否亦具有等同之美學意識與共享之視覺文化？相關議題的探討以及跨藝術的比較，即為本文討論之起點。

1970 年代鄉土運動興起後，許多文學作品皆以尋常的庶民生活空間為背景，敘說其間人物的故事，巷弄即為顯例。此時期的鄉土美術，則大致較傾向懷舊式的表現，是以其中的巷弄美學相對較無社會性意涵。從日治時期到1970 年代的鄉土運動，兩者的巷弄美學自有不同的側重表現與演化，當中的差異以及不同年代的視覺文化特質，即為本文探討之重點。此外，亦將論及由鄉土文學代表性作品所改編之電影，其中的空間取景與場面調度所展現之巷弄美學。

Japanese “裏町” (uramachi) refers a street block which is not located along a main road and roughly means “back street”. But “町” (machi) represents a block, not a road or a boulevard, which more or less contains the concept of community. Thus uramachi usually connotes a quiet residential area. During the Japanese occupation period there were many art works with the title of “裏町” or “裏通” (uradōri, meaning avenue or alley) which portrayed such back streets and people's usual ways of life during the Japanese occupation period. In addition, scenes of winding alleys in old Taiwanese cities were also very common in the paintings at that time. All these scenes were considered
representative of the unique culture of Taiwan.

During the 1970s, many nativist literary works described the living spaces of ordinary people and the backstreet communities in the metropolitan areas. The nativist artists of this period were generally inclined to be nostalgic, rather than focused on current social issues. From the Japanese occupation period to the nativist movement in 1970s, the sceneries of backstreets in Taiwan certainly featured different types of representation and cultural implications. This research will explore these differences not only in the visual arts but also make comparative references to similar scene descriptions in literature and movies of the same periods.