Abstract
Before about 1930, Michitoshi ODAUCHI (1875-1954) strove to study the human geography from an independent standpoint, and systematize the organization of geographical study from the standpoint of the non-main current school in opposition. He studied on the regional geography what attached importance to the inhabitants' occupation and life, and he wrote Teito to Kinko (The Capital and its Suburbs, 1918), Shuraku to Chini (Settlement and Geography, 1927) and others. On the other hand, he established Société de Géographie Humaine au Japon (The Human Geographical Society of Japan) at 1926, in rivalry with Chikyu Gakudan (The Geological Institute, Kyoto Imperial University; 1924-1937) and Nippon Chirigakkai (The Association of Japanese Geographers, Tokyo Imperial University; 1925-), and he intended to diffuse the human geographical thoughts.
ODAUCHI, from 1930 to 1940, endeavored to push forward the home geographical education in the situation of a non-regular staff member of the Education Ministry of Japan. His thoughts of homeland, homeland education and homeland study changed in quality with the change of the social conditions. However, he kept his subjectivity as much as possible, and tried to bring up the study of regional geography in the school education and the social education. Moreover, he tried to take part in both the land planning of Manchuria from 1940 to 1942, and the plan of the mountain village in the Oku-Aizu district from 1946 to 1949. These facts show that ODAUCHI's study made special features of practice and application.
On the other hand, ODAUCHI was one of the organizers of Kyodo Kyoiku Renmei (The league of homeland education) at 1930, and he tried to push forward the study of the synthetic regional geography by keeping step with the movement of the homeland education. There seemed to be his antagonism against the study of the regional geography with Keiji TANAKA (1885-1975) as the central figure in the bottom-current of ODAUCHI's speech and behavior. Moreover, he assumed a critical attitude toward Taro TSUJIMURA (1890-1983; successor to Naomasa YAMASAKI, 1870-1929)'s academic feature, especially toward his view of landscape study. Thus ODAUCHI took the independent position that he did take little part in the main current of the learned circle of geography in Japan.
What is the root cause why ODAUCHI made the academic features of his own, and took the position of the non-main current school? It is considered that the cause is his serious consideration of the historical and social scientific view point in his geographical study. This feature of his methodology appeared in his study of the satellite town in the west suburbs of Tokyo. Furthermore, he wished that the geographical study accepted his methodology after World War II in Japan.
ODAUCHI did not participate in training geographers as a full-time teacher at the university. In this sense, there was not a direct successor to him. However, it is considered that his advanced academic features had a great influence on many geographers, including Koji IIZUKA (1906-1970), specially after World War II in Japan. IIZUKA, who played an important role in the prosperity of social scientific geographical study after World War II, he seemed to have the fundamental ideas such as both the historical view of the advancement of geography and the methodology of geography that were somewhat similar to ODAUCHI's ideas. In addition, the learned circles of geography and social studies held the discussion meetings with ODAUCHI as the central figure at that time. These facts greatly estimate that ODAUCHI's achievements and academic features were very significant for the development of the geography and the social studies, hence it is inferred that he, directly or indirectly, had a far-reaching influence.
