Hokorensyu of the elementary school attached to Nara Women's Higher Normal School is a sports event that was begun by Takeji Kinoshita (1872-1946), head manager of the school. Hokorensyu was held on the last eleven days of January every year. The first nine days were called Mikasayamanobori, and the last day was called Nokai. Mikasayamanobori was training for Nokai, a walking race of about 46km. The purpose of this paper is to describe Nokai in the Taisyo Era. The point that the author will describe in detail is how the approximately 46km, walking race was held. The approach employed in this paper was a descriptive analysis of the management and the style of the course in this walking race. The results of the research are summarized as follows : 1) In 1922 the course of Nokai was constructed parallel to the railway line taking care of the safety of students. This course was the same as the round trip railroad line from Nara to Kyoto. 2) In 1923 the course of Nokai was the same style as the previous year, but the route was changed from Nara to Osaka. However, this round trip course was confronted with several problems such as distance, resting places, and the participants' retention of motivation. 3) In 1924 the course of Nokai was changed to a circular course making use of the development of the railways network in the suburbs of Nara. This circular course was called Minamiyamatoichijun and was used for twenty consecutive years. The problems of the previous course mentioned above were thus solved. As a result, the major characteristics of this walking race were established as a circular course along the railway loop. The reason that this course was realized is that a railways network was developed to transport tourists in the suburbs of Nara. The Unebi Line, between Saidaiji and Kashihara Shrine, opened by Osaka Denkikido Railway Corporation in March, 1923, was major factor in the creation of a round course. The development of this railways network, in addition, was promoted by two factors : one is the industrial growth in the Taisyo Era, and the other is the development of the railroad under private management brought about by the wartime boom of world war I.

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