Geographical Review of Japan
Online ISSN : 2185-1719
Print ISSN : 0016-7444
ISSN-L : 0016-7444
Volume 46, Issue 1
Displaying 1-6 of 6 articles from this issue
  • Hideo SUZUKI
    1973Volume 46Issue 1 Pages 1-29
    Published: January 01, 1973
    Released on J-STAGE: December 24, 2008
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    From July 1971 to November 1971 I made a field survey along the west coast of South America as a member of the Scientific Expedition to South America, University of Tokyo.
    The main theme of my research was to find field evidences of the northward displace-ment of the ITC and the Polar front of the Southern Hemisphere during the Warm Glacial Age, which I had previously inferred from literatures (See footnote 4). If the displacement was real, traces of dry climate must be found out in Ecuador, and those of humid climate in the Atacama desert.
    In the present survey the former was identified by the landform due to sheetflood, which is something between alluvial cone and sedimentary pediment and, therefore, might be called peripediment. This landform exists in the Peruvian coastal desert and extends continuously southward to just short of Chala, Peru. This distribution is just the same with distribution of the past heavy rains still remembered by fishermen along the coast. For this reason and from other field observations, I believe that this landform is not fossil, but . is now being formed. The same type of landform is traced further northward and found out as fossil in the Ecuadorian savanna and forest.
    Thus, the ITC is believed to have been displaced northward one geomorphological period previously. This conclusion is against some other studies which maintain that the ITC was displaced southward and El Niño was more frequent in the Worm Glacial Age.
    I have made a review of the concept of El Niño in literature and in the practice among the fishermen and defined it tentatively as the anomalous rain on the west coast of northern Peru caused by the unusual displacement of the ITC on the westside of the Andes, and therefore accompanied by W-N winds.
    According to this definition, there is a group of anomalous rainfalls on the west coast of Peru which does not belong to El Nifo rains. The latest example is the rain of Jan. 15, 1970. I made a detailed analysis of this rain and concluded that it was caused by a cold front which had come down from the North American Continent. The ITC was displaced southward during this rain, but only on the east side of the Andes. The ITC, with its taxes structure, is traced to move regularly to the latitude of about 20°S, which is against many recent analysis.
    As for the humid imprints in the Atacama Desert I found the northernmost relic of them at latitude 21°45'S. This latitude being equivalent to 30°S of today, there was a northward displacement of the middle-latitude Westerlies by 8° in latitude in the last Glacial Age.
    An extremely high precipitation peak with more than 1, 000 mm monthly amount is found around 40°S today. A displacement of 8° of this peak satisfactorily explains the sudden appearance of a wide fossil river terrace at Rio Huasco and the 2-cyclic landf orms near Santiago which indicate the recent desiccation.
    A full translation of this paper is soon to appear in the Bulletin of the Department of Geography, University of Tokyo.
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  • Torahiko MORITANI
    1973Volume 46Issue 1 Pages 30-47
    Published: January 01, 1973
    Released on J-STAGE: December 24, 2008
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    There are two types of groundwater in the Nakdong River Basin. One is the shallow groundwater and another is the deep groundwater. The shallow groundwater occurs in the alluvial deposits or in the bed rocks decomposed by weathering. On an average, the thickness of the geological strata bearing shallow groundwater is 5.6 meters. The shallow groundwater exists as free surface water in geological strata. The total of the shallow groundwater that drains into the sea is as small as 1, 300m3/year, the total storage is 7, 600 × 106m3, and the yield is 0.009 × 106m3/day/km2. The deep groundwater occurs as fissure water or stratum water in igneous and metamorphic rocks or in consolidated sedimentary rocks. The total storage of deep groundwater is 17, 700 × 106m3, the yield is 130m3/day/km2 in igneous and metamorphic rocks, 50m3/day/km2 in volcanic and dike rocks, and 1, 800m3/day/km2 in consolidated sedimentary rocks
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  • Misao ASANUMA
    1973Volume 46Issue 1 Pages 48-60
    Published: January 01, 1973
    Released on J-STAGE: December 24, 2008
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    So-called “Warigae (_??__??_)” Runrig Land Use System is applicable only to the internal matter of the village, which holds possession of the land as the common property.
    Under the system, the farmers mutually change their lands by lot drowing which takes place periodically every 20 years, or even every 3 years, although the management of land and the products thereof belong to the respective farmers in charge during the settled period.
    In Japan, the system in question was established in the Medieval Era, and had expanded during the Tokugawa Shogunate era, but it was prohibited by the Meiji Government.
    It has nevertheless continued in existence in many regions in the form of the common fields of local villages.
    The system has regionally different types of form, but has many things in common. It is seen in small villages, composed of some 30_??_50 farmers, assembling in settlements of agglomerate type. They are mostly independent but poor, and each individual possession of land is below 1 ha.
    Regionally speaking, it is mostry witnessed in the areas, where damages from cause of nature, such as heavy and frequent storm, flood, and cold weather are occasionally profound. The general yield thereof accordingly is destined to be poor and unstable.
    Moreover, most of the regions are those of monoculture and have no means of production for commercial purpose except rice-growing. Their monetary income was negligible as for the village farmers while the tax imposed on them by the feudal lord was strict and heavy during the era of Edo.
    Thence the poverty struck the livings of farmers in the area. In these villages, therefore, it was difficult for them to maintain village structure and population, and to carry on reproducing the area, unless under some specific land system.
    It is considered by reason of this that the system had to stand on the foundation of equalized share of land and to be carried out independently and in accordance with the will of the farmers.
    As against the above, I witness some cases under quite different and opposite situations which I am reporting as shown in the present monograph.
    Along the right side bank of the river Abukuma, opposite to and beyond the city of Moriyama, there spread the old Moriyama area. Within 30 villages of the area in question, together with other villages therearound, “Warigae” system had been carried out ever since the early days of Edo.
    But later in the year of 1705 the system was re-examined and to be abolishied.
    In spite of the above fact, the 12 villages existed in the southern part of the area, however, had still held the system independently so far up to the end of the Shogunate days. (Fig. I).
    These villages were situated within the flood disaster area of the river “Yata”. There is no denying the fact that it was desirable for them to carry on and stabilize the system in order to share and equalize the loss from disasters among each head. Apart from the above circumstances, the relief works done by the Land Lord (_??__??_) were good and effective.
    Furthermore, the pieces of land of the region were not these of monoculture, but were favoured with consider fair cash incomes other than rice crop. These were Benihana (for use of dye industry), Indigo Ball, Silk raising, the manufacture of farmers' hat, etc.
    Taking an instance of the village of “Kami-Yukiai” their monetary income was estimated about 500 (_??_: dollar=Yen) to 600 Ryo.
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  • Yasuo MASAI
    1973Volume 46Issue 1 Pages 61-68
    Published: January 01, 1973
    Released on J-STAGE: December 24, 2008
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    To Prof. Shinzo KIUCHI who retired from the University of Tokyo in 1971 after serving very successfully for the promotion of geographical science especially in urban geography.
    Overall tendency of urbanization in the world today and in the late 20th century is and will be characterized by the ever-increasing ratio of urban population and urban land use in the areas concerned. Ratio of urban population in most developed countries will exceed the 90% or even the 95% threshold in the very near future as in the case of present-day United Kingdom or USA. No countries in the world today foresees a decline in urban population as a general trend.
    Urbanization is, in all cases, considered as a rule in the transformation of the spatial organization of the countries or regions, although it varies in form and pattern from place to place. Every nation in the world seems to try to promote urbanization with the intention that the living standard will be raised by intensifying land use and labor in terms of urba-nization and that the living mode could be transformed into a very efficient and comfortable one by the progress of urbanization. However, there are some differences concerning the mode of urbanization and urban problems. In general, so-called developing countries are yet to pay much attention to environmental problems that developed countries are facing seriously.
    This report is primarily based on the activities of the Commission on the Processes and Patterns of Urbanization, of the International Geographical Union (Chairman: Prof. Shinzo KIUCHI), which the author has been serving as Secretary. In writing this paper, the author's comment and opinion have been added to fulfill the gap of information about the present and future trends.
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  • G. TOMIOKA
    1973Volume 46Issue 1 Pages 69-74
    Published: January 01, 1973
    Released on J-STAGE: December 24, 2008
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
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  • 1973Volume 46Issue 1 Pages 75-80_2
    Published: January 01, 1973
    Released on J-STAGE: December 24, 2008
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
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