2010 Volume 73 Issue 5 Pages 589-594
The purpose of this study was to clarify the landscape of shrines, temples and Satoyama forests in the 19th century Shimousa area, the region extending from northern Chiba to southern Ibaraki. We used two types of historical sources for analysis and used GIS. One was historical pictures named Shimousa Meishou Zue and the other was the rapid survey maps produced by the Historical Agro-Environment Browsing System (HABS). The results indicated that the historical pictures and maps contain sufficiently accurate information to identify the landscape: 94.7% of pictures were found at their current name and position, and 42.1% of pictures had been restored to their location and view at that time. The vegetation of shrines, temples and satoyama forests was the same type of tree: over 90% of shrine forests consisted of pine trees.
