In this report on the distribution of wild boars (Sus mystax leucomystax) and deer (Cervus nippo and nippon centralis) in the Japanese Islands, I have rearranged the two papers previously read by me before the annual meetings of the Association of Japanese Geographers in May, 1961 and in April, 1963, with some additional explanations.
There have been few investigators in this field among Japanese geographers. Some biologists are interested in such a study but their primary interest is largely restricted to the aspects with little relation to mankind or to the arrangement of land water in the geological age. In fact, history of the relations between man and other creatures and their regional differences, which are the matters of lively concern to geographers, have been studied very little by biologists. I have pointed out that wild boars and deer were so densely inhabited in Japan in the 18th century, and that, even in the Kantô Plain where Yedo (present-day Tôkyô) was situated, people of those days were confined within narrow limits by the great number of dangerous boars. It may safely be deduced from literature that at that time their number was ten times their number was ten times as many as at present.
The activity of a living creature is closely related with a great many component factors of its habitat, which result convergently in the restriction of its habitable extent and the permitted limit of its number. In Japan the principal factor has been mankind, but there have been very few reliable data on the changes in . quantity. Accordingly, it is necessary, as the first step of resarches, to investigate the number of these two kinds of mammals in a forest that is almost natural and has been rarely trodden by mankind. For this purpose, I have analyzed the records of hunted harmful beasts (mainly wild boars and deer causing damages to the adjacent cultivated lands), which lived in the forest of the upper reaches of the Isuzu River, Mie Prefecture, preserved for hundreds of years under the control of the Grand Shrines of Ise.
The results are as follows; 1) it can be easily understood by seeing the records (Table 2) of the forest when divided into three, that there are great differences among them both in species and in quantity. 2) In the regions abutting on the villages and the cultivated lands, there are wide annual fluctuations in the number of game, while in the interior, comparatively constant. 3) There is a tendency, in the former, to increase in number the middle of the hunting season; on the contrary, in the latter, the number is largest in the early period and decreases sharply (Fig. 4). This shows that these mammls at first gather in the interior and then scatter in every direction within this forest. 4) The total of game is closely connected with the length of hunting season, the number of hunters and their skill. Among them it is especially affected by the first; namely, the number of days of hunting. Thus the probability of hunting game viewed only from the ecological standpoint, excluding the other factors, is not always proportioned to the number of hunted animals. This probability fluctuates comparatively in correlation with the denity of the number of inhabitants (Fig. 5). It has, however, decreased after the 2nd World War, to below a half as compared with former times, because the forest has been opened to any hunter since then.
On the other hand, I have given a sketch map of the distribution of wild boars and deer in Japan excepting Hokkaidô because of absence of these species (Fig. 6). The map may give some clue for researches into some factors in the habitat restriction of these two kinds of mammals: 1) they are densely inhabited in the coastal mountainous districts in the south of this country, and very thinly in the northern part of Honshu and in the districts along the shore of Japan Sea. 2)

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Beim Marktkreis einer neueren Burgstadt (Jôoka-machi) stehen zwei konkurrenzelemente gegenüber; die eine die feudale, and die andere die ökonomische. Die feudale Element strebt unter Fürstherrschaft nach Verstärkung des der Burgstadt günstigen Handelskreises, während die ökonmische ebenso nach Beförderung, den Handel zu befreien, wie nach Aufhebung des privilegierten Marktkreises einer Burgstadt. Da ist jener emn feudaler Marktkreis and dieser emn öknomischer. Der ökonomische Marktkreis war nach 19. Jhdt. vorwiegend verstärkt und die kleineren 1ändlichen Städte, die bisher einer Burgstadt angehörig geblieben waren, neigten immer zum Unabhängigstehen. So bestand jetzt emn komponierter Großmarktkreis, der aus dem bloß burgstädtlichen Monomarktkreis mit den kleineren landstädtlichen Marktkreisen zusammen vereinigt war, und das “Marktumgrenzungsedikt” war allmählich zum toten Buchstaben geworden, damit kamen die Güter flüßig innen der Fürstdomäne in den Verkehr zu gelangen. Eine Reihe dieser Erscheinungen war in der Méidschi (Meiji) Periode immer meter verstärkt, und dann sieht man 1869 (d, h. 2. Jahr der Méidschi) die Abschaffung des “Marktumgrenzungsediktes”. Daher ist der Burgstadtmarktkreis nun moderner Handelskreis geworden.

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In order to draw isopleths objectively, it is desirable to have a dense distribution of plotted figures. However, the plotting many figures on a map requires a lot of work and time, and also the drawing of isopleths consumes a lot of time. On the other hand, if the distribution of figures is sparse, it may not take much time for plotting and for drawing isopleths, but the drafted isopleths are apt to be highly subjective. Each of above-mentioned cases has handicaps and may not be practical to construct isopleth maps and/or distrtbution maps. Therefore a study was carried out to find most convenient and recommendable distribution of figures for plotting. It was presumed that the best distribution would lie somewhere between the above-mentioned two extreme cases.
Fifteen sets of base-maps having different densities and distribution patterns of plotted figures were constructed. All the maps were 26×36cm. The maps were distributed to the advanced geography students of our department, and they were asked to draw isopleths on each of the 15 maps.
The figures were plotted at intervals of 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 & 35mm, and their distributions were arranged either in a rectangular pattern and/or checkered & modified checkered patterns as are shown on Fig. 1A and 1B.
The time required to draw the isopleths for each map and the studens' opinions as to the relative difficulty of drawing each sheet were recorded. The results were analyzed statistically, and following conclusions were obtained:
If the figures were plotted at intervals of less than 10mm, a great amount of time was required to finish drawing the isopleths. The time required increased very sharply between the intervals of 15mm and 10mm. The conclusion was that the denser density of more than 10mm intervals are not recommendable to draw isopleths. If the intervals become wider than 25mm the drafted isopleths are apt to show subjective charcteristics, and individual differences between students become remarkable. Thus, it was also concluded that if the intervals of the plotted figures were wider than 25mm, then the distribution was not suitable to get objective isopleths. The tests revealed that the most recommendable distribution of the plotted figures were 15mm intervals for the checkered distribution of 20mm intervals for the modified checkered distribution as shown in Fig. 2 & Tab. 5.

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