Investigation concerning the phenomenon of distribution is a conventional method for human geography. The pursuit of phenomenon on the distribution, however, is not always a worth-while job in itself. If human geography treats foundamentally of a history on space, the study in regard to the phenomenon of distribution is a useful work because it brings forward a clear evidence resulting from historical facts, or as it is reflected in the landscape of land surface in accordance with the time of the historical process. Viewed in this light, among the human and cultural sciences that take up a phenomenon of distribution, there is something in common between the angle of vision and linguistic geography. The author illustrates this from such a point of view.
(1) Distribution of Jôri Square Land System: of late years, the study centering around the problem of restoration to an original state goes ahead with Prof. Tanioka's works. It has been definitely shown by Prof. Tanioka that the distribution of land system has been undertaken on a nation-wide scale. We can get from these results a vivid impression of each local geographic actuality as they were in ancient time.
(2) Distribution of Kinship Terminology: by investigating the distribution of main kinship terminology remaining in the Loochoo Islands, we can believe that the author was at length on the right track of their change in latter days (the last stage of the Medieval Ages-the opening stage of recent times) and their historical significance. The author considers that it may not be practically impossible to go back still more into the past.
(3) Distribution of House Type (double-roofed house type): distribution of double-roofed house type along the Pacific Ocean from the Loochoo Islands and southern Kyushu districts to the southern region of the Kanto district should be interpreted, rather to be a remaining type of surrounding distribution that is left behind in the march of progress from standarization of four-square house types created on Honsyu Island in recent times, than recognize northing of the southern type of the house forms or the existence of a cultural area by the Black current (the Japan Current). In addition to this consideration, through the these kinds of study, I think we can hit upon a clue to make clear a genealogical table of progress concerning Japanese house types.
The question boils down to this: viewed from the point of human geography, there is keenly felt a need of such a detaild extensive investigation in a few limited areas on the object of study based on the social unit itself.

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The objective of this paper is to discuss “Xi Yáng Fan Gúo zhí” a recently found and published Chinese document describing the countries of southern and western Asia in the 15th century. This document is believed to be written by Gong Zhen who participated in the Zhèng Hé's seventh voyage to the areas of “Xi Yang”, the South Sea and the Indian Ocean, 1432-1433 A.D. The manuscript of the book had been handed down through the period from the end of the Míng to the middle of Qing. The name of the author and the title appeared in bibliographies of that time, and the presence of the document was never doubted, though it was not published in any form. Where the document was being kept remained unknown for more than 150 years. After World War II a manuscript of “Xi Yáng Fan Gúo Zhí” was donated by a book-collector in Tian-jin to the National Library of Peking. Subsequently, the first annotated edition of the book by Mr. Xiàng Dá was published in 1961 from Zhong Huá Shú Jú, Peking.
The publication should be regarded as a great contribution to the geographical study of the countries in the “South Sea”. Gong Zhen arranged the great accumulation of geographical knowledge acquired by members of the Zhèng Hé's expedition voyage to the following areas: the Indochina Peninsula, the Malay Archipelago, Java, Sumatra, Ceylon, the southwest coast of India, Hormuz, Mecca, and the coasts of the Arabian Peninsula.
First of all, the author put in order the bibliographical knowledge hitherto known us before it was published, then explained the circumstances how the present manuscript appeared. The content of the book is a chief objective of the present study. Regional description, country after country, is discussed in order of the following items: physical environment, polity, language, religion, mode of living, custom, products, monetary system, weights and measures, relationship with China, and Chinese residents.
In this examination the author tried to make clear the characteristics of the book as a regional geography in the past, and peculiar nature that the descridtion was chiefly based on the knowledge collected by the Zhèng Hé's expedition. His opinion is expressed on the problematical relationship of the book with “Yíng Yá Shèng Lan” another of the records of the voyages.
It is also the author's intention to point out the ambiguous definition of the word “Xi Yáng” used in the title as well as in the text. This seems to result from the transitional nature of the period from the Yuán to the end of the Míng, and this ambiguousness is characteristic to Chinese documents of the early 15th century concerning the “South Sea” areas.

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