In recent Anglophone cultural and historical geography, attention has been increasingly paid to modern photography’s role in creating geographic knowledge and to its important role in nation-state building and imperialism. It has been pointed out that the mass production and consumption of photographic images tend to mold and reproduce people’s imaginative geographies. This paper focuses on the practice of ‘the production of landscapes’ undertaken by the Kubo Photo Studio, a local photo studio during the Meiji and Taisho periods in Japan. The production of landscapes here refers to two things: first, the production of landscape photographs as material representations ; second, the production of cognitive landscapes as non-material representations. These two sides of the production of landscapes interact mutually.

The Kubo Photo Studio was established in about 1907 by photographer Masao Kubo at Shingu, Wakayama Prefecture. The southern part of the Kii Peninsula, including Shingu, has been called ‘Kumano’ since ancient times, and is blessed with a warm climate and a scenic natural environment of mountains, streams and coasts. Kumano occupies the southern half of the area inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2004 as the ‘Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range’.

Kubo Photo Studio, run by Masao Kubo and his son Yoshihiro Kubo, produced and sold a variety of photography books and picture postcards featuring the natural and cultural landscapes of Kumano. In particular, the phrase ‘Kumano Hyakkei’, meaning ‘one hundred views of Kumano’, was often employed for titles or subtitles for photography books and picture postcards. Being aware that Kumano was a sacred site deeply revered by the imperial family in ancient times, Masao Kubo dedicated Kumano Hyakkei Shashin-cho (Picture Album of One Hundred Views of Kumano) to the imperial family in 1900. While an earlier production of Kumano Hyakkei was based on the national value of the landscapes of Kumano as a whole, one also finds a sort of localism in which landscapes in and around Shingu were implicitly privileged by Masao Kubo. Later, under the supervision of Yoshihiro Kubo, Kumano Hyakkei became the title for travel guidebooks conforming to the tourist view. Nevertheless, such ordinary landscapes as ports, towns, villages, agriculture, and fisheries can be observed throughout a series of Kumano Hyakkei. Various photographic images, produced by Kubo Photo Studio as ‘archives of landscape’, played a vital part in molding the collective view of the landscapes of Kumano, and also in dictating what should be seen and how.

Detailed data on the grazing behavior of cattle is vital for the estimation of grazing capacity, which is the basis for the sustainable grazing. This study examined the grazing behavior of cows by using handheld GPS and a bite counter collar system. Fazenda Baía Bonita ranch in south Pantanal in Brazil was selected as the study area, and our fieldwork was carried out in the rainy season. We attempted to clarify the cows’ migration and herbage intake (jaw movement) by land classification (temporary grassland, year-round grassland and forest). The results are summarized as follows: (1) We observed about five to eight peaks of herbage intake per day by the three cows sampled. (2) One or two of the peaks appeared at midnight, about from 10 PM to 2 AM. (3) The cows did not graze much in the early morning after low night temperatures. (4) Cows migrate 10 to 19 km per day, a longer distance than we expected from previous studies. (5) Considering grazing behavior by land classification, the migration distance of cows is long in forest, emporary grassland and year-round grassland, and herbage intake is greater in temporary grassland, and shorter respectively in year-round grassland and forest. The basic data presented by this study will offer critical data for estimating grazing capacity of the traditional ranches in the Pantanal. The results are expected to contribute to the development of a herd management system that could realize sustainable grazing of cows while preserving natural grassland in a fragile wetland environment.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the locations of jyuku (supplementary tutorial schools-more commonly referred to as ‘preparatory schools’ or ‘cram schools’) and to consider their surroundings from a geographic perspective.

First, I examined national tendencies. Second, I investigated these tendencies in detail in Ukyo Ward of Kyoto City.

The following results were obtained:

1) Many of the major jyuku were founded between1955 and 1986, and since that time have continued to develop and increase their number of outlets. The industry grew in accordance with the growth in population of school-aged children, as well as a new orientation towards higher education in society.

2) The typical location of jyuku in Ukyo has change as follows: previously, the majority were independent establishments, generally located in owner-occupied buildings in residential districts. Many of these expanded, however, and opened branch schools in multiple locations, using rented space in commercial districts.

3) To meet a large variety of demands, jyuku now offer a wider array of services. For example, whereas previously these served mainly children of upper grades, now they have classes for all ages and levels of children. Furthermore, they have reinforced some systems of individual tutoring.

4) Students choose jyuku on the basis of the distance from their homes, as well as for their educational policies.

Private educational agencies, including jyuku, have and will continue to play an important role in education. Research about education from a geographical standpoint will make better progress if the jyuku share more information with the public.

The purpose of this research is to clarify the supply trends of private-sector condominiums and their characteristics in Chuo Ward, Sapporo City, Hokkaido, Japan. Recent changes in condominium supply levels in Chuo Ward were examined along with changes in their proportion within the Sapporo metropolitan area as a whole. The ratio of Chuo Ward (a central ward) condominiums decreased during the time of Japan’s Bubble Economy period (1989–1991), but rose again in the 1990s when land prices in central Sapporo fell. The relationship between mortgage funds and the supply of condominiums was also analyzed and the results suggest that the supply increased whenever the mortgage rate was low. The study also reveals that the ratio of Hokkaido-based condominium developers fell during the Bubble Economy period, whereas the rise in developers from Tokyo was remarkable. The location of new condominiums in Chuo Ward was examined and the most populated places appear to be those accessible to stations on the Tozai Subway Line, including Maruyama-Koen and Nishi-28-Chome stations. In addition, zoning regulations also determined the location of new condominiums. In this research, a questionnaire survey was made of condominium residents. This showed a tendency for middle-aged and older people to move into apartment living from owner-occupied detached houses. A major advantage cited was the protection from snowfall and ease of accessibility from their accommodation during the city’s winter. However, central city condominiums suffer from inconveniences related to daily shopping, especially in regard to a lack of food establishments.