Abstract
This paper attempted to analyze the geographical changes in Japan over the last 200 years by superimposing the Inoh’s map created in 1821 and the current map (GSI map) in 2020 using GIS. Specifically, we made the map showing the changes in the location and shape of roads, lakes, marshes, rivers, and islands. Then we explored the causes of these spatial changes. As a result of the overlay analysis, it was made clear that (1 ) by laying alternative roads, 24 . 7 % of the roads measured by Inoh disappeared by now, which were distributed chiefly in mountainous areas, (2 ) the changes in the circumference and area of lakes were proportional to their size, but the factors of change differed between urban and rural/forest areas, (3 ) the movement of the river mouths in metropolitan areas was due to channel modification and renovation, while in nonurbanized areas it was mainly due to erosion and sedimentation, and (4 ) the effects of reclamation were significant for islands close to cities, and changes in the shape due to natural factors were more observed on small islands. These empirical results suggest that overlay analysis using GIS is a powerful tool in studying old maps.
