What role should the discipline of geography play in the academic community and the general public in the twenty-first century. This article attempts to propose a frame of reference for analyzing and explaining the world by combining the traditional viewpoint of human and nature, origin and dispersal, region and landscape, and time and change with the concept of globalization and localization. Sugar was chosen for examination. World’s sugar has been supplied by the cane sugar production circuit and the beet sugar production circuit, both circuits being composed of numerous sugar producing regions. By examining the elements that constitute a sugar producing region such as the capital, sugar factories, the supply system of raw materials, and the type of labor, geographers can clarify the characteristics of sugar manufacturing, relationships between sugar producing regions around the world, the supply system of sugar on a global scale, and the sustainability of sugar production. Searching the regional structure of sweetness is a challenging research frontier for geographers.

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Di-Li (地理)”, supposed to be the word origin of “geography,” is authentically based on the “Yi-Jing (Book of Changes),” one of the “Five-Classics” of Confucianism. This metaphysical book has predominated in Chinese philosophy and other sciences for more than two thousand years since published. Confucians, therefore, always have relied on commentaries on this book when they defined the concept of “Di-Li.” The oldest definition of this word was noted during the Tang dynasty (618-907). This paper surveys all the relevant commentaries about “Book of Changes,” written until the Song (960-1279) period, in order to clarify how the “Di-Li,” the concept of geography in East Asia, was understood over time and how those commentaries were formed. First, we discuss the earliest two types of definition of the “Di-Li” that was written in the Tang period: Kong Ying-da (孔穎達) considered the “Di-Li” as an orderly “structure” in landforms and vegetation; Li Ding-zuo (李鼎祚) regarded the “Di-Li” as a kind of atmospheric vertical circulation which is sensible in our “cognition”. Next, we analyze the commentaries on Yi-Jing written in the Song period. In this period, following four types of theories about a definition of the “Di-Li” were provided: (1) “structure” as abstract positional relations; (2) “cognition” as a basis of an idealistic classification criterion; (3) “phenomenon” as an incarnation of a metaphysical principle; (4) “space” that is absolute but finite. These diverse definitions of the “Di-Li” provided during Tang-Song period preserve certain aspects of philosophy of traditional Chinese geography.

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This research focuses on the development of content tourism in Oarai town, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan, and aims to clarify the influence on the tourism space brought about by changes in the essential character of the tourism. The subject area is one of the premier destinations in the prefecture, which has many facilities. After 2012, a new trend in tourism appear to have been motivated by the Japanese animation Girls & Panzer. As the number of tourists inspired by the show increased, the Chamber of Commerce, shops, and commercial facilities actively used them as regional resources. As a result, they succeeded in attracting many fans as a tourist to shopping street. Before the animation aired, the accommodation industry served mostly families and group guests in the summer season. After the show aired, there were changes, such as a large increase in the proportion of individual customers visiting and in seasons other than summer, and changes in the relationship between hosts and guests. The introduction of content tourism also led to a greater number of tourists there overall.

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[in Japanese]

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