5Development of Bioclimatological Thought in Japan
from Ancient Times to Present
Masatoshi YOSHINO
Professor Emeritus, University of Tsukuba, Japanand
Senior Advisor, Sustainable Environmental Development, United Nations University
e-mail: mtoshiyo@poplar.ocn.ne.jp

Abstract
In order to review the historical development of bioclimatological thought in Japan, the author assembled a collection of descriptions in old documents starting from the 8th Century. The Harima Fudoki provides graduated descriptions of land productivity. This is the oldest record expressed in terms of grades. The
term fudo is said to have indicated a two-dimensional representation of a geographical region in ancient
times. In the second half of the 19th Century, the term fudo included environmental connotations. This issimilar to the evolution of the term climate, which originally meant “inclination.” The meaning changed
from that to “latitude,” to “the zonal region between two latitudes (two-dimensional space) and then included the atmosphere above such a region (three dimensions). Finally, it came to include a sense of theenvironment, as it does today. Local calendars reflecting bioclimatological thought were distributed to farmers in the Edo Era. This was expressed by figures and signs of cultivation tools, household tools, animals,
annual festivals, etc. I introduce the Tayama-Goyomi as an example.
Bioclimatological thought was established in Japan as a modern science in the 19th and early 20th
Centuries in the following stages: (1) introduction of knowledge from Europe to Japan, (2) study of actual
examples in Japan, (3) summarization or review of prior studies abroad and (4) development of original
studies in Japan. In the 1930s, three important works on bioclimatological thought were published. The firstof these was a book entitled Fudo by T. Watsuji, which was most influential not only in terms of philosophical consideration, but also for its impact on the social sciences, human geography and bioclimatology. The
second was an essay by T. Terada concerning the impacts of climate on Japanese mental characteristics, lifestyle, modes of living and foods. The third was a work by K. Misawa that stressed the importance of the role
fudo played in establishment of local industry. In the second half of the 20th Century, different branches of
bioclimatology developed into medical sciences, plant and animal ecology, building technology, economic
studies of activities such as merchandising and ecotourism, and research into overall comfort and well-being.
All have cooperated together under the umbrella of various bioclimatological disciplines.
Key words: ancient Japan, bioclimatology, climatological environment, history of climatology,
Japanese landscape

1. Introduction
It is said that since old times, the Japanese have had
an acute sensitivity to changes in natural scenery withthe weather, seasons and climate. This is been reflected
in literary works and human activities (Fukui, 1977).
Throughout Japan’s historical periods, observations
have been made of changes in the lives of plants andanimals, human disease and mood and the landscape inaccordance with changes in these conditions.
Bioclimatological thought spread from China toJapan via routes through Korea. The exact periods ofthis have not yet been determined, but it is thought that
Global Environmental Research
13/2009: 5-12
printed in Japanthey were first introduced during the 3rd to 4th Centuries. The Fudoki (風土記 in Japanese) describes theregional geography on the scale of provinces, documented officially in the 9th Century and presenting
bioclimatological evidence such as agricultural production and people’s way of life (Yoshino, 1968, 1975).
Bioclimatological concepts, expressions and descriptions are found in poems, novels and agricultural
calendars from the old times and are still found inethnological events, folk lore, etc. (Fukuoka, 2008).
In the age of modern science, starting from the Meiji
Restoration in 1868, bioclimatological thought hasdeveloped quickly. A recent book entitled History of©2009 AIRIES6

M. YOSHINO

Climatology (Yoshino, 2007) deals with the generaldevelopment and status. Inaba and Kikuchi (2009) inanother article describe progress in the activities of theJapanese Society of Biometeorology.
Bioclimatology is defined as “the study of climate,with particular reference to the environments of livingorganisms, especially to those of plants, animals andhumans, together with the disease vectors” (Allaby,
1994). In the present article, I describe the developmentof bioclimatological thought in Japan in accordancewith this definition.

2. Fudo or Climate
2.1 The Fudoki
In Japan, about the time when the three volumes of
the Kojiki (Ancient Chronicle, 712), and thirty volumesof the Nihonshoki with its additional volume, Keizu(Chronicle of Japan, 720) were completed, compilationof the Fudoki (Regional Geography) was undertaken incompliance with an Imperial edict. At the present time,
only the descriptions of five territories (kuni) – Hitachi,
Harima, Izumo, Hizen and Bungo – remain intact out of
all of the volumes.
In the ancient times, the term fudo did not yet include the concept of the environment. The Fudoki (literally, “description of fudo”) meant the geography, encompassing names of mountains, rivers, villages, naturallandscapes, human behavior, industries, religious faiths,
festivals, etc.
One example related to local climate conditions forcrop cultivation is found in the chapter on villages in the
Harima-Fudoki (Regional Geography of Harima-noKuni) which covers about two-thirds of the southern partof modern-day Hyogo Prefecture. It records the qualityof “soils” in grades, such as medium-of-medium. Suchstatements were made in compliance with the Imperial
edict mentioned above, which stated, “Make a report on
the degree of fertility of the soil.” The term “soil” here
did not even mean the soil per se, but probably the
productivity of the land and thus the overall natural
conditions suitable for farm products, namely, soil,
water temperature, underground temperature, airtemperature, winds, moisture, etc. Although the assessment of productivity seems to have been based on
subjective criteria, this record is noteworthy as the firsttreatise on bioclimatology based on observations. Threedegrees were assigned – best, medium and worst – andeach of these was further divided into three degrees –
best, medium and worst. Thus there were nine grades all
together. Figure 1 shows their distribution (Yoshino,1975). This is an important map giving the local distribution of agricultural productivity quantitatively fromthe standpoint of bioclimatology in the 8th Century.
Tanaka (2007) made a recent study of the degrees shownin Fig 1, with data on harvest per unit area in 1885 in therespective counties, and came to the conclusion that thedata in the Harima-Fudoki coincide with the productivity noted in 1885, except for those of two counties.

Fig. 1 Distribution of productivity grades of the natural environment in Harima, a historical province in southwestern Japan in the 8th Century. 1: best of best, 2:
medium of best, 3: worst of best, 4: best of medium, 5:
medium of medium, 6: worst of medium, 7: best ofworst, 8: medium of worst, and 9: worst of worst.

The Izumo-Fudoki described the effects of hot
springs: “At Imube-Kamube (present-day Tamatsukuri)
located on the shore of the lake (present-day Lake
Shinjiko), people gather as if at a market from long distances by land and sea routes.” It is written also that “ifone takes a bath once here, he becomes fine, and if twice,
he recovers from diseases.” This is considered evidenceof recognition of the effects of hot springs from a balneological viewpoint.
2.2 Changes in the concepts of fudo and climate
The word fudo (風土 in Japanese) means the climate,natural/physical conditions of the atmosphere and all
aspects of the environment in a broad sense today, as
mentioned above, but in ancient times it lacked the environmental connotations. It is said that the Japanese concept of fudo included a sense of the environment at theend of the 19th Century. For example, Yuasa (1948)
pointed out that Rintaro Mori (an army medical officer
and at the same time a famous novelist under the pen
name of Ogai Mori) used the term fudo inclusive of asense of the environment in 1898, as dealt with in detaillater, and that others did also, such as N. Mizushima inthe book Disease Geography (1900) and Y. Suzuki inthe book Weather and Human Body (1891). This trend
was based on the development of knowledge introduced
to Japan through Nagasaki, which had been the only
open window to western hygienic studies since the 18 th
Century.
In summary, the term fudo indicated strictly geographical regions or areas in a two-dimensional sense inancient times through the early Middle Ages in Japan.
Since the second half of the 19th Century, however, it
has evolved to include a gradually expanding sense of
the environment for humans, plants and animals, includ-Development of Bioclimatological Thought in Japan from Ancient Times to Present

ing atmospheric conditions as seen in three dimensions
in the modern scientific age in Japan.
The term climate (clima, climata, etc.) in early times
originally meant “inclination” of the sun’s rays. According to the Oxford English Dictionary (1970), the meaning in Greek evolved from the sense of a slope of theground, e.g., of a mountain range, through the supposed“slope or inclination of the earth and sky from the equator to the poles,” through “a zone or region of the earth
occupying a particular elevation of this slope,” i.e., lying
at some parallel of latitude, through a more recognizable
sense of “climate,” in which sense it was adopted inlater times as clima or climata (climate, region). Itsevolution was: inclination – latitude – latitudinal zone
between two latitudes (two-dimensional space) – zonal
area including the atmosphere above the ground (threedimensional space) – atmosphere, including a sense of
the environment. The term climate came to include a
sense of the environment in the last years of themedieval ages, probably in the 14th and 15th Centuries,
though the details are not known. In the 17th Century,
climate had clearly developed the meaning of conditionsof a region or country concerning the environment forhuman activities as well as plant and animal life.
It is interesting to note, therefore, that the meaning of
the terms fudo and climate evolved similarly, although
the times (ages) differed, with a delay of 200-300 years
in Japan. This may be an important point to consider inthe development of bioclimatological thought in Japan.

3. Description and Expression of Bioclimate
in Japan
3.1 Descriptions in the medieval period
In the year 982, Yasutane Yoshishige wrote an essay
called Chitei-ki (池亭記) in Heian-kyo (today’s Kyoto),
observing seasonal changes in bioclimatic conditions ofwind flows, sunshine and moonlight at his house andphenological events in his broad garden. He emphasizeda suitable size of house for comfortable living. This casewas considered to be the first description of the livingstyle in Japan about 1,000 years ago.
Table 1

According to the Nihon-ki-ryaku, anomalous weather
prevailed in 980. This included late snows, unusual
migrations of birds in spring, unusual occurrences ofrainbows (indicating unusually misty weather caused byheavy frontal activities) in summer, typhoons and floods
in autumn and, finally, fire in winter. Before the end of
the first half of the 10th Century, the capital enjoyedprosperity, but this decreased in the second half of the10th Century (Makino, 1997). Chitei-ki was written
under such circumstances, but the author based his
descriptions on his keen observations of social and natural conditions under the influence of Chinese ascetic
philosophy (Nanami, 2006). His thoughts are said tohave been succeeded by the Hojoki, written by Kamono-Mabuchi in 1212, which was a comprehensive bookon dwelling theory and bioclimate-related phenomena,
as dealt with later.
Table 1 lists bioclimatological descriptions appearing
in the representative essays and novels of Japan during
the medieval period (the Ancient Ages in Japan) todemonstrate the standards of observation.
Sei Shonagon, a famous woman writer in the HeianEra, mentioned “favorable winds” in her famous classic,
Makura-no-Soshi, written in 996 (or possibly 10011003). She called these “hana-kaze,” meaning moderate
winds in spring, in contrast to “arashi” or “kogarashi,”meaning strong winds or mountain breezes in lateautumn or winter.
Murasaki Shikibu wrote the world’s oldest novel,
Genji Monogatari, in the Heian Era. In the chapter
entitled “Nowaki,” she described a vivid scene during
the passage of a typhoon and how the people coped withstrong winds blowing around the houses in the capitalurban area. According to a study of this historical event,
this was the first reportage of a typhoon’s passage
through Japan; namely, the Kyoto typhoon of September
26, 1003 (Julius Calendar) or October 2, 1003 (current
calendar), with an estimated wind velocity of 25 m/sec.
Natural four seasons were also described by her keenobservation (Ishii, 2006).

Bioclimatological descriptions in the most famous essays and novels of Japan from the 10th to 14th Centuries.

Title of bookChitei-ki(池亭記)
Makura-no-Soshi(枕草子)
Genji-Monogatari(源氏物語)
Hojoki(方丈記)
Tsurezure-Gusa
(徒然草)

Year
Written982

Author[birth-death]
Yoshishige-noYasutane[931?-1002]
Sei Shonagon[966?-1025?]

7

Bioclimatological thema
described
Disaster by typhoon, flood,fire, degraded urban area,
epidemics.
996
Seasonal changes and diurnalchanges in insects, flowers,
disastrous weather andlandscapes.
1012
Murasaki Shikibu Strong wind damage.
[978-1015]
A typhoon’s passage on Sep.
26, 1003. No cold winters.
1212
Kamo-no-Chomei Natural hazards. A famine in[1155-1216]
1181-1182. A conflagration in
Kyoto in 1180. An earthquake
in 1185.
1330-1331 Yoshida Kenko
Landscapes.
[1283-1350?]
Current occurrences.

Distinctive features
Recluse’s literature.
Seasonal changes indwelling conditions.
Keen observations of nature.
The most famous essay of
the Heian Era.
World’s oldest novel, written
in the Heian Era.
Uncertainty of life.
A most famous essay.
Buddhist literature.
Recluse’s literature.
A most famous essay.

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M. YOSHINO

3.2 Calendars and phenology
It is not clear when the local people began to recognize calendars in Japan. According to a Chinese description of old Japan during the 2nd and 3rd Centuries B.C.,“the Japanese do not know the time of day, the date ormonth, but only the seasons.” From this description, thelocal Japanese relied on the natural calendar for agricultural work. In the 4th and 5th Centuries, the Japanese
used a calendar developed in China (Yoshino, 2004),
which had been introduced to them from Kudara in the
Korean Peninsula.
In 602, Kanroku, a Buddhist priest, came to Japan
carrying books on calendars, astronomy, geography, etc.,
and introduced them to Japanese society. The government in the Suiko-Tenno period established an official
calendar based on this introduced Chinese calendar(Okada, 1986; Yamashita, 1986). According to the
Nihon-shoki ( 日本書記 ), ume ( 梅 a kind of apricot)
trees blossomed during the New Year festival holidays
in the old calendar in 627, but an unusually dense fog
lingered in March and snowfall was observed in June.
This was the first report on weather and phenology inJapan.
Japan as a nation was established with a legislature
under a central bureaucracy in 701, and the science division in the government was concerned with divinations,astronomy, calendars and time signals under the guidance of respective professional technicians and officers.
It is not clear, however, whether or not they observed
and reported on agricultural, phenological or medical
events in relation to weather and climate in this division.
In the medieval period, local calendars were edited
and distributed to the public. A calendar make in Kyoto
in 1675 is shown as an example in Fig. 2. Shunkai

Fig. 2 Kyotoingokyoshi-Goyomi (Calendar named“Kyotoingokyoshi”), distributed in 1675.

Shibukawa [1639-1715] and others completed the
Jokyo-Reki calendar. After having the government(Bakufu) check it, he had his calendar distributed
throughout Japan in 1684. In his calendar, he notedsome weather singularities in the present climatologicalsense: the 88th ya (meaning the 88th night from
Setsubun, normally the 4th or 5th of February, which isthe day before the calendrical beginning of spring)roughly coincided with the date of late frost, so after the88th ya, agricultural cultivation or picking of tea leaves
could begin in most parts of central Japan. He also notedthe 210th day (i.e., the 210th day after Setsubun) as themost risk-filled day for rice cultivation because it was
the normal date of rice flowering coinciding with stormy
weather caused by typhoons. It is said he put these dates
in his calendar based on word from farmers and fishermen. In other words, the farmers and fishermen alreadyhad a fairly high standard of knowledge of changes inweather for each season.
Because most farmers were illiterate in the Edo Era,
there were calendars expressed in illustrations of figuresand signs. The Nanbu-Mekura-Goyomi (Calendar for
illiterates in Nanbe-han) was an example, printed in
Tayama, a small village in Nanbu-han (present-day
Hachimantai-shi) in a mountainous area of northeasternJapan (Okada, 1980, 1986; Kudo, 1983, 2004). The
calendar was illustrated with agricultural tools, animals,
annual events, etc., and their relationship to the time ofcrop sowing, as shown in Fig. 3. Nankei Tachibana,originally a physician, introduced a calendar of 1783 inhis book, Toyuki (Travelling East), published in 1786.
This calendar was called the Tayama-Goyomi.
It is interesting to note that there was an effort to inform the uneducated public on proper dates useful ineveryday life and agricultural activities which changed
with the seasons through bioclimatological observations.
Later, stimulated by the Tayama-Goyomi, theMorioka-Goyomi, a local calendar printed in Morioka,
was distributed in 1810.
Antei Miyazaki [1823-1897] compiled the Encyclopedia of Agriculture (農業全書 Nogyo Zensho), working in parallel at his fields in the countryside of Kyushu.
He described many items relating to bioclimatologicalevents of crop cultivation.
In Kyoto, a cherry blossom viewing banquet washeld every year by the Tenno (Emperor) or Shogun(highest ranking samurai), and the records of its datewere collected by Taguchi and published in Historical
Meteorological Data ( 日 本 気 象 史 料 Nihon-KishoShiryo) (Taguchi, 1939a). Using these records, Taguchi(1939b, c) and Yamamoto (1952a, b; 1967) discussed
climatic changes. Table 2 shows the records of dates
compiled by Arakawa (1955, 1957).
They concluded that the dates in the 11th to 14th
Centuries and 16th Century were later, indicating lower
temperatures in late winter and early spring as comparedwith the 10th Century and earlier. In other words, the9th and 10th Centuries were warmer, coinciding with
the Medieval Warm Period, as has been widely recog-

Development of Bioclimatological Thought in Japan from Ancient Times to Present

9Fig. 3 Tayama-Goyomi (Tayama Calendar) for 1783. The original size was 26.4 cm by 90.6 cm.
Part was wood engraving and part was illustrated by hand. It is the earliest edition of the
Tayama-Goyomi known at present. Copy by Iwate-Kenritsu Museum.

nized in Europe and the Americas. Thus I conclude thatsuch proxy data available are important in analyzing
past climate conditions for human life.
Japan has many weather proverbs related to bioclimatological phenomena, such as disease, health and the
behavior of the human body as well as activities of animals and plants. I have had to omit them here, however,
due to space.
3.3 Bioclimatological background in the Edo Era
Ekiken Kaibara [1630-1714], one of the famousscientists of natural history in the Edo Era, was called
Japan’s Aristotle by F. von Siebolt, who came to Japan
in 1823 to study the nature of Japan. Kaibara establishedHonzogaku (本草学) in Japan, which was originallydeveloped in China since the ancient time as science of
medicine. He systematized it publishing an Encyclopedia, in which about 1,900 kinds of plants, animals andminerals found in Japan were described in total. His
thought related to bioclimate was concentrated in an
enlightenment book Rules of Human Health (養生訓).
In the middle of the 19th Century, there were many
scientists introducing modern sciences developed inEurope to Japan. Among them, Genkyo Hirose[1821-1870] learned about sciences in Edo (present-day
Tokyo) and wrote a comprehensive series of four
volumes entitled Rigaku Teiyo (理学提要 Compendiumof Natural Sciences), which was published in 1856. In
this series, he presented bioclimatological consideration
well.

10

M. YOSHINO
Table 2Frequency (%) of the date of the cherry blossom viewing banquet in Kyoto.

Century

BeforeMar. 31

April
1-10

April
11-20

April
21-30

After
May 1

Number ofrecords

9th
10th
11th
12th
13th
14th
15th
16th
17th
18th
19th
*
**

-7
--13
---10
--8
--

43
36
20
25
13
8
43
3
20
-30
61
31

57
50
40
25
38
58
37
77
70
-80
31
60

-7
40
25
38
25
17
13
----9

---25
-8
3
6
------

7
14
5
4
8
12
30
31
10
0
5
36
35

Mean date in
April for the
century
11.3
11.8
18.4
17.5
15.4
17.4
13.1
17.0
12.4
-12.4
7
14

* First date of blossoming at the Kyoto Meteorological Observatory, 1917-1953.
** Date of full blooming at the Kyoto Meteorological Observatory, 1917-1953.
Dates are expressed by the Gregorian Calendar. [Data source: Arakawa, 1955]

I have summarized the main trends in the Edo Era
until the first half of the 19th Century as follows(Yoshino, 2007): (1) Referencing works in Europe,
Japanese scientists wrote books with added examples
from Japan. (2) Foreign scientists came to Japan to collect materials, observing fields, analyzing conditions,etc. They reported their results in European journals or
published books in Europe. (3) In bioclimatology, themain items of interest in this period were the effects offorests, certain urban environments and alpine environments through such phenomena as ozone, heavy rain,
low pressure systems, strong ultraviolet rays, dense fog,etc.

4. Bioclimatology as a Modern Science4.1 Second half of the 19th Century
Rintaro Mori [1862-1822] was a famous novelist in
the Meiji Era under the pen name of Ogai Mori. At thesame time he was also a high official in the army’s
medical school. He wrote his first text book on hygiene(陸軍衛生教程 Rikugun Eisei Kyotei) for army officers
in March 1889. This book was revised as New Treatiseon Hygiene (衛生新論 Eisei Shinron) with coauthors
M. Koike and T. Nakahama in November 1889. The
revised, enlarged New Edition on Hygiene (衛生新編
Eisei Shinpen) was published in 1898, followed by
Outline of Hygiene ( 衛生学大意 Eiseigaku Taii) in
1908. These books were widely read in Japan in the
Meiji Era and contributed to the establishment of basic
thought on medical bioclimatological problems,considering the relationships between the environmentand human activity. Yamasaki (2007) has put forward a
detailed, complete biography of O. Mori. In particular, it
is noteworthy that he mentioned the relationshipbetween hygiene and the environment, for example, heatstroke, sunstroke and acclimatization. He was the first to
endow the term fudo with the concept of theenvironment, as I mentioned above.
At the end of the 19th Century, there appeared somemillion-selling books related to bioclimatology. They
included the first edition of Landscape of Japan (日本風景 論 Nippon Fūkeiron, 1894) by Shigetaka Shiga[1863-1927] and Land and Human Relationships (地人論 Chijinron, 1894) by Kanzo Uchimura [1861-1930].
The authors were not bioclimatologists, but they contributed to an increase in the level of thought about thenatural environment of Japan and consideration ofinternational comparisons of natural conditions andhuman activities.
4.2 First half of the 20th Century
In the 1930s, there were three important contributions to fudo studies from the point of view of bioclimatology. The first of these was a book by Watsuji
entitled Fudo (1935), which came to be known under
the field of ethics later, but was a most influential workwith editions still being published to this day. He
stressed a definition of fudo as an opportunity or
moment in human existence. This philosophical or ethical viewpoint is considered one of the representative
bioclimatological modes of thought in Japan.
The second contribution was an article by Terada(1935). He was a professor physics at the University ofTokyo and at the same time, a famous essayist. His
works were widely read in Japan. He pointed out many
characteristics of the Japanese people, their living style,traditional cultures, etc., which developed under andwere supported by bioclimatological thought in Japan.
The third contribution was a book by Katsue Misawa
entitled Fudo Sangyo (Fudo Industry, 1941). Misawa[1884-1937] was a geographer in Nagano Prefecture. In
his book published in 1936, he stressed that industries
which strongly and sharply reflected physical conditions
on a local scale should be strengthened and maintainedin the region. New editions of his book were publishedDevelopment of Bioclimatological Thought in Japan from Ancient Times to Present

and recently, his Collected Writings in 4 Volumes(Misawa, 2009) was published. This demonstrates theimportance of his contribution.
I reviewed these three works in relation to recognition of nature in the scientific history of Japan (Yoshino,1968) and discussed them thoroughly in History ofclimatology (Yoshino, 2007).
Shunji Wada, Yoshiro Tomita and Tokuichi Asaistudied acclimatization problems in regions outside ofJapan, where Japanese were obligated to live and work
under the political situation in the first half of the 20th
Century, before the end of World War II. These studies
were discontinued prior to the second half of the 20th
Century. Kiyoyasu Marui studied the relationshipbetween mental disease and seasons, analyzing monthly
changes in rates of suicide and crime in Paris (Marui,1946). He found that maxima occurred in June and July,
just like in Germany and Switzerland. Motosaburo
Masuyama summarized previous studies in Japan andabroad on statistical analyses of disease occurrence inrelation to weather and climate up to the 1930s(Masuyama, 1938a, b, c, d, e). Yamada (1940a, b) reported on surgical diseases and climate, and Nakamatsu(1942), on malaria and climate in southern Japan.
Masuyama (1942) studied nutritional intake under the
influence of atmospheric conditions and he also contributed to understanding statistical problems of reliability
in analyses using small numbers of samples (Masuyama,1943). Subsequent to his studies, it has become common
to use statistical tests of the results analyzed in bioclimatological and biometeorological studies. In the
Applied Meteorology Section of the MeteorologicalResearch Institute at the Central Meteorological Observatory, studies have started on ultraviolet rays, seasonaldiseases and mortality, statistical treatment of cases, air
pollution problems, etc.
Summarizing the facts presented above, the following trends are apparent for the period from the second
half of the 19th Century to the first half of the 20th Century: (1) In the second half of the 19th Century, Japan
received its general conception of bioclimate from
Europe. (2) By the end of the 19th Century, the terms
climate and fudo included the concept of the environment. (3) From the end of the 19th Century to the early
20th Century, Japanese scientists, politicians and religious figures published books concerned with the peculiar Japanese bioclimatic conditions and also comprehensive textbooks on hygiene and bioclimatology. (4) In
the 1930s and 1940s, scientifically original studies wereactively published in Japan. Through these, statisticaltests on reliability of the analyses were established inbioclimatology. (5) Research on bioclimatology andbiometeorology was initiated in the medical departments
at universities and in the research agencies of national
institutes.
4.3 Second half of the 20th Century
After World War II ended, scientific studies gradually increased. The Japanese Society of Biometeorology

11

was founded in 1962. Inaba and Kikuchi (2009) havewritten in detail about its progress in another article.
Many branches of bioclimatology and biometeorology
have been developed intensively. Among them, studies
on seasonal changes in diseases (Momiyama, 1961) andon mortality and human activity (Sakamoto-Momiyama,
1977) have provided some of the most valuable results.
See Yoshino (2007) for more details.
There are many contributions these days supporting
our bioclimatological awareness. They are not only inthe medical sciences, but also in plant and animal ecology, building technology, studies on economic activities
such as merchandising and ecotourism, and studies on
general comfort and well being. I must omit discussionof these branches due to space.

5. Summary and Conclusions
Development of bioclimatological thought in Japan
can be summarized as follows: In ancient times, bioclimatological descriptions appeared in the Fudoki in the
8th Century. In other official historical records written in
the Kojiki and Nihon-Shoki, we find many observationsof biometeorological phenomena and events. We canrecognize that even in ancient times, the people alreadyhad a keen eye for observing their surrounding areas
together with the sky and an awareness of the space inwhich they lived and worked.
It is worth noting that changes in the meanings of theterms fudo and climate were similar, although thesechanges occurred at different times. The timing of thechange in the meaning of fudo in Japan lagged that ofclimate in Europe by 200-300 years, because the concept of the environment was introduced from Europe toJapan.
The phenology of the blossoming date of cherry trees
has developed from ancient times. It depends on air temperatures in March as well as in the preceding winterand has short duration, with the petals falling within a
few days.
Stages of development of bioclimatological thought
in Japan from the 19th to the 20th Century are characterized by (1) introduction of knowledge from Europe toJapan, (2) study of actual examples in Japan, (3) summarization or review of previous studies abroad and (4)development of original studies in Japan. Through thesestages, bioclimatological thought has been developing
as a modern science.
References
Allaby, M. (1994) The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Ecology.
Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Arakawa, H. (1955) Climate change as revealed by the blooming
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Masatoshi YOSHINO
Born in Tokyo on 1 January 1928,
Masatoshi Yoshino graduated from Tokyo
Bunrika University, BA in 1951 and MA
in 1953, majoring in geoscience, particularly climatology. He obtained his Doctorof Science in 1961. He was a research
fellow of Alexander-von-Humboldt Foundation, 1961-63, at the University Bonn,
Germany. He was an Associate Professorat Hosei University, Tokyo, 1968-70, Full Professor at the same University, 1970-74, Full Professor at the Institute of Geoscience, University ofTsukuba, Japan, 1974-91 and at the Department of Geography, Aichi
University, Japan, 1991-97. Currently, he is Professor Emeritus at the
University Tsukuba and Senior Programme Advisor, Sustainable Environmental Development, United Nations University. In the past he has served
as President of the Association of Japanese Geographers and of theJapanese Arid Land Studies, Vice-president of International GeographicalUnion (IGU) and Former chairman of the National Committee ofInternational Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP) in Japan. He has
published many books, including “Climate in a small area,” (Universityof Tokyo Press, 1975), in English, 549 pages, and about 300 articles. He
served as a chairman of the editorial committee of ‘Global Environmental
Research’ for Volumes 1 to 6.

(Received 18 April 2009, Accepted 20 May 2009)