Recent Trends in Studies on the History of Geographical Thought in Japan

Mainly on the History of Japanese Geographical Thought

Abstract

In this paper, the authors examine the recent state of the studies in the history of Japanese geographical thought, both traditional and modern. They remark that the increased interest in the history of geographical thought in recent decades in Japan is the reflection of the increasing concern over the epistemological and methodological interest in Japanese geography. The examinations conducted in this paper are also made in the context of methodological and epistemological reflections with regard to the intellectual activities of Japanese geographers. The main emphases are put on problems of the articulation of traditional or indigenous Japanese geographical thought with modern academic geography, the roles played by the authors of geographical writings in the early Meiji period, the significance of the pioneers and outsiders of modern geography and characteristics of various schools of academic geography in Japan.