Hot-springs in the Hokuriku District are mostly distributed to the following seven regions. Namely,
(1) The Kurobe Gorge-the Tateyama Mts.
(2) The Southern parts of the Kureha Hill
(3) The Eastern foot of Mount Hodatsu
(4) The foot of Volcano Hakusan
(5) The Enuma Region
(6) The Northern parts of the Noto Peninsula
(7) The Region adjacent to Tojinbo
Many of the hot-springs in these regions likely to occur in volcanic areas. I may chiefly attribute their origin to the igneous intrusions of the Quaternary Period. There is an intimate relation between the many local fault lines of this district and the great tectonic lines of the Japan Island. But hot-springs are mainly due to small faults or large fissures in a local situation. Hot-springs may be due to descending surface waters being heated by coming in contact with hot rock masses below, or by hot magmatic vapors passing into them, and their returning in this heated condition to the surface. Therefore, in ordinary occurences of hot-springs, descending surface waters or ground waters which may be circulated among fissures or faults of subsurface are very important.
The water of fissure springs has been warmed by contact with rocks whose temperature has been raised by mechanical means, such as crushing, or by chemical changes going on within them.

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En 1959, l'auteur a visité lea principaux endroits d'Europe oú la pélothérapie est opérée: St. Amand-les-Faux, Aix-les-Bains et Dax en France, Bad Ischl en Autriche et Abano en Italie.
Au Nord-Europe, pas mal de tourbes se trouvent partout et l'on les utilise en forme de bain et de compresse. La différence du mode d'emploi n'exsiste pas entre l'Europe et le Japon.
Mais, quant aux péloides minéralisés, il y a une grande différence entre les deux. Au Japon, on utilise seulement deux espèces de péloides, bones thermales et limons éstuaires. Cependant, pas mal d'espèces de péloides se trouvent en Europe, limons de rivières de Dax, argiles de Bad Ischl formées par la sedimentation, marnes d'Aix-les-Bains et bones thermales d'Italie etc. Chez nous, on utilise ces péloides minéralisés tel quels, mais, en Europe, avant l'utilisation, ces bones sont généralement mélangées avec les eaux thermales dans un bassin artificial pendant une certaine période, afin d'y augmenter la matière organique et minérale. On appelle cette manipulation “maturation.” C'est pourquoi l'on constate que la matière organique joue un rôle plus important que les propriétés physiques au point de vue clinique. Lors de l'utilisation en forme de bain, les eaux et les péloides se séparent, en comparaison des bains du Japon où les bones sont complètement homogènes même en bas et en haut dans In baignoire. Et lors de l'utilisation en forme de compresse, la consistance en est plus molle qu'au Japon.

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The influence of various kinds of baths upon the central cardiovascular system of human beings and rabbits was studied with special emphasis on the roentgenological interpretation. The results were as follows.
The hot bath brought about an increase in pulse rate and blood pressure, and also in the cardiac output measured by x-ray kymography. The tepid or indifferent temperature bath, however, brought about no remarkable changes in them, except slight increase of the pulse rate and blood pressure immediately after going into and getting out of the bath. The temperature of the bath within the range from 36°C. to 45°C. that produced the least effect on the cardiovascular system of Japanese was found by the author to be 38°C.
The author had referred to bathing as a factor which alters the height of the diaphragm and so affects the roentgenogram of the chest. Through the influence of increased abdominal pressure the diaphragm showed upward displacement and the heart and great vessels an increase in diameter and a change of the pulsation wave form. The height of the diaphragm was of the greatest importance, especially in the interpretation of X-ray pictures; it changed constantly, with the level of the bath. The pulmonary area in the X-ray film was decreased in the full bath by the hydrostatic effect upon the chest. Accordingly the cardio-thoracic ratio was increased remarkably.

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The influence of environmental temperature on the recovery rate of skin wounds was studied.
Male rabbits about 2500 grams in weight were prepared in the following manner. Four wounds, 3cm square, were made on the backs of the rabbits which were kept in different temperature and humidity rooms.
The area of the wounds was measured every day and the contraction of the wound was observed. At the same time the weight changes and histological studies were made. The course of healing was divided into a period of fluctuation where the area of the wound fluctuated in the beginning and a linear period where the wound contracted into a line. The rate of healing was defined as the time it took for the wound to heal and the slant of the linear period when the time was plotted against the area of the wound.
The following rooms were prepared for the experiment;
1. room temperature 10°C humidity 81-89%
2. room temperature 22°C humidity 52-56%
3. room temperature 32°C humidity 78-82%
4. room temperature 36°C humidity 68-72%
The results of the experiment was as follows:
A. The rapidity of healing was found to be in the order of 22°C, 32°C, 36°C, and 10°C showing that there was a desirable temperature range in rapid recovery of wounds.
B. Even when the rabbits were adapted to the different temperature condition, the rapidity of healing process was not influenced.
C. When the rabbit was placed in one temperature during the period of fluctuation and another in the linear period the rate of recovery was found to be between the two temperatures.
D. The fluctuation period was shorter when the temperature was elevated but the linear period changed over a certain temperature. In other words a certain temperature seems to effect the fluctuation period and the linear period in different ways.
E. Even at moderate temperatures, if the wound is cooled locally, the recovery is prolonged but if the wound is warmed locally at a cooler room temperature the healing is hastened. In other words the temperature of the wound site has a great influence on the rate of recovery of the wound.
F. When the wound was kept at the same temperature locally and a difference was established in the room temperatures: namely a warm room and a cool room, it was found that the recovery of the wound was definitely slower in the case where the room temperature was lower even though both wounds were kept at the same temperature locally. This signifies that besides the local temperature of the wound the room temperature influences the body in general and can influence the recovery rate of the wound itself.

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I. Experimental Study
The back of rabbits was shaved and a serial bathing of Tamagawa Hot Spring was given to them for 14 days (10 minutes once a day at 42-43°C). To study the changes of adrenocortical function, 17-ketosteroid content in urine, oxygen consumption (Qo₂) and ascorbic acid content in the adrenal glands, the numerical changes of eosinophilic cells in blood and the histological changes of the adrenal cortex were investigated.
1) 17-ketosteroid contents in urine, Qo₂ and ascorbic acid contents in the adrenal glands decreased in the early stadium and recovered gradually in the middle stadium. Then it took a tendency to increase in the later stadium of bathing.
2) The eosinophilic cells in the blood showed the wavy changes in the early stadium of bathings and then it decreased remarkably in the later stadium.
3) Histologically increases were found in the thickness of the glomerular layer and the cell proliferation in the intermediate layer. And its border became indistinguishable from the fascicular layer, although there were a clear-cut difference between light and dark cells in all the layers of adrenal cortex and increase of cell density in the fascicular and reticular layers.
These histological changes were more remarkable in the middle stadium of bathings
4) The ascorbic acid silver granules in all cortical cells decreased in number in the early stadium of bathing and then it increased more remarkably in the middle-later stadium of bathing.
5) With Sudan III Staining, it was found that the granules decreased a little in number from the early stadium to middle stadium of bathings, and then it restored gradually in the later stadium.
6) Under Vines' Staining, the granules increased a little from the early stadium of bathings and were most remarkably increased in the middle and later stadium.
7) When the sera of rabbits which were affected by bathing dermatitis in Tamagawa Hot Spring were added into the buffer solution containing the normal adrenocortical tissues, the Qo₂ of these tissues increased in the early and middle stadium of bathing and then it restored to the value before bathing, thus proving the influence of the bathing dermatitis upon living tissue.
II. Clinical Study
The therapeutic effects of bathing of Tamagawa Hot Spring on the rheumatoid ands neuralgic disease were studied in 170 patients who took bath of this Hot Spring in summers of 1957 and 1958.
Results obtained were as follows:
growing worse: 6 cases
no change: 35 cases
improving (slightly or remarkably): 129 cases
Then, it was surmised that bathing in Tamagawa Hot Spring was effective in healing the rheumatoid and neuralgic disease. General condition of the most of the 127 patients became rather worse transiently in the early stadium of the bathings and then took a favourable turn: and bathing dermatitis was observed in most of these cases.

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PART I
The changes of blood pressuure by a single bathing, and during and after serial bathing.
The Tamagawa Spring in Akita Prefecture is an acid vitriol sulphur spring. The author investigated the effects of thermal bathing at the Tamagawa Spa on blood pressure, and obtained the following results.
According to the blood pressures observed, the author devided the cases into the following four groups following the classification of the systolic pressure level adopted by the Co-operative Research Group on the Balneothrapeutic Effects in Japan.
Group A: over 181mmHg, Group B: 180-161mmHg,
Group C: 160-111mmHg, Group D: less then 110mmHg
1) The effects of the single bathing (at 4243°C, 5 minutes) on blood pressure were investigated separately in group A (18 cases), group B (23 cases), group C (115 cases) and group D (43 cases).
In groups A, B, and C, the systolic and diastolic blood pressure decreased immediately after bathing, and the decrease was more remarkable in those with higher systolic blood pressure before bathing.
In group D which showed lower values of systolic blood pressure before bathing, the systolic and diastolic blood pressure could hardly be proved to decrease, but rather showed a tendency of increase as time went on.
2) The effects of a serial bathing (about 8 days, 5-10 minutes once a day at 42-43°C) on blood pressure were investigated in group A (19 cases), group B (19 cases), group C (65 cases) and group D (28 cases).
In groups A, B and C, the systolic and diastolic blood pressure decreased slightly after several bathings and the decrease was more remarkable in those of the higher systolic blood pressure before bathing.
In group D, however, the systolic blood pressure showed a tendency to increase, but the diastolic blood pressure showed somewhat wavy changes.
3) Follow up study of the serial bathing was carried out in group A (4 cases), group B (4 cases), group C (13 cases), and group D (3 cases).
In groups A, B, and C, the systolic and diastolic blood pressure kept a tendency of decrease after the serial bathing, and showed a lower pressure value than that before bathing, even two months after the serial bathing. On the other hand, the systolic and diastolic blood pressure of group D kept a tendency of increase even after the serial bathing, ; and in some cases it showed a higher pressure value than that before bathing, even two months after serial bathing.
PART II
Experimental studies on the effects of Acid Hot Spring Bathing on hypercholesterolemia and atherosclerosis of rabbits induced by cholesterol feeding.
1) Remarkable hypercholesterolemia and atherosclerosis were observed in rabbits fed on cholesterol (0.1gm/kg) daily for 60 days.
Total cholesterol and free cholesterol levels in sera of rabbits fed on cholesterol daily were lower in the group of bathing than control group all through 60 days of experiment, and these indicate a little suppressive effects of bathing on hypercholesterolemia. But in both the group of bathing and the control, ester cholesterol level showed no significant change all through the 60 days.
2) Atherosclerosis was less in frequency and weaker in the bathing group than in the control. And this indicates that antiatherosclerotic effects was more or less proved in the bathing group.

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