Hegurajima lies 50 kilometers off the coast of Noto Peninsula. It is well-known as an island showing seasonal migrating of fishing families between the island and the peninsula. About 200 fishing families move to the island from Wajima City on the north coast of the pennsula.
Coastal fishing on the island depends on woman divers gathering awabi, ear-shell, during warm season. When the fishing season is over, they go back to their permanent residence of Wajima. After closing fishing season the island is an uninhabited island until the next season.
However, in recent years about a half of fishing families stay even in cold seasons, they do not leave the island but seek for the other kind of fishery. Their fishing depend on off-shore and hand-line fishing in recent days. These fishings by men, not woman divers seem to develop in the future. Income of new fishings is much more than diving fishing. They have also another interest of sightseeing industry on the island to increase income. As a result, permanent residence of fishermen has begun to built. Schools for children are already established. The old pattern of living on this island is now changing.

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The writer shows in this paper some results of research on geographical understanding growing in pupil's thought from the fifth grade of elementary school to the third grade of lower secondary school.
Geographical understanding in pupil's thought could be divided into three patterns as follows:
(1) Understanding of distribution
(2) Ability of comparison
(3) Understanding of regional characters
Two or five questionnaires in each patterns were prepared to research and evaluate growth of those understanding and ability for 150 pupils.
The writer obtained the ratio of right answers in each grade as follows:
(1) Understanding of distribution
According to the above table, pupils understanding shows steady growth with their grades, although they are not so high. On the other hand, understanding of geographical location, patterns of distribution and chronological change shows less understanding in all grades.
(2) Ability of comparison
The above table explains that the ratio are higher than the table (1) in all grades.
(3) Understanding of regional characters
Although the ratio of the above table shows growth of understanding with grades, they are much less than (1) and (2).
The table (3) shows another interesting fact that growth of ratio interrupted by reduction in the second grade of lower secondary school. This is probably caused by lack of geographical education in this grade curriculum. This handicap is filled up by preparation for higher secondary school in the third grade.

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