Marco Polo was the first to make known to Europeans the existence of a country called by him Zipangu (Japan). However, owing to the Edict of Sakoku, published in 1616 and 1635, foreign commerce was vigorously opposed by the government until 1859, substancially opening year of external trade with the Western nations. By treaties made with the European and American governments in 1858, the three ports of Nagasaki, Kanagawa (Yokohama), and Hakodate were thrown open to foreign commerce. Japanese Government, moreover, opened two treaty ports, Hyogo (Kobe) and Osaka in 1868, and also Niigata in 1869.
Under the treaties of foreign commerce, these six ports obtained the exclusive possession of external trade for 40 years, 1859-1899. Yokohama was indisputably the largest port of the country, collecting 80 per cent and over of the total trade of Japan in the biginning of external trade. Kobe was the second port of the country, handling about 20 per cent of trade in the 1870's. The Industrial Revolution since the 1880's, by reason of the geographical shift of industry which it had produced, had decreased the predominance of the port of Yokohama. Kobe had now become the first port of the import trade, continued to handle a greater import trade than Yokohama since then. Osaka had also grown the third port of the country in the 1900's.

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The purpose of this paper is to analyse the changes in the retail central place system as the result of competition of trade areas. The Trade Areas Survey, utilizing the dyadic factor analysis in Yamanashi Prefecture conducted in 1986 and in 1992, are used in this analysis.
The results are summarized as follows:
Trade areas are divided into four levels in a hierarchy. These are trade areas at the regional center level, the local city level, the local town level, and at the village level. The results are the same as in Miyagi Prefecture.

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