Recent Trends in Studies on the History of Geographical Thought in Japan

Abstract

In this paper, the authors examine the recent state of the studies in the history of Japanese geographical thought, both traditional and modern. They remark that the increased interest in the history of geographical thought in recent decades in Japan is the reflection of the increasing concern over the epistemological and methodological interest in Japanese geography. The examinations con ducted in this paper are also made in the context of methodological and epistemological reflections with regard to the intellectual activities of Japanese geographers. The main emphases are put on problems of the articulation of traditional or indigenous Japanese geographical thought with modern academic geography, the roles played by the authors of geographical writings in the early Meiji period, the significance of the pioneers and outsiders of modern geography and characteristics of various schools of academic geography in Japan.

Some Critical Appraisals of Recent Achievements in the History and Methodology of Geography

“…In In this review article, the author on principle examines the achievements of Japanese geogra phers in the methodology and history of geog raphy, taking up where our previous review article (Takeuchi and Nozawa 1988) left off. Strictly speaking, there exists a certain degree of divergence of focus between the previous and the present papers.…”