Construction of the Gazetteer of Japanese Place Names based on Humanities GIS

1. Construction of the Gazetteer of Japanese Place Names based on Humanities GIS Ikuo Oketani, oketani@hus.oiu.ac.jp Human Sciences, Osaka International University

2. Recent spread of GIS • Humanities: Archaeology, History, Area Studies, etc • Correlation with geographic information is effective in assisting research • More cases of research in humanities studies outside Japan using time-space information • Only few tools that could become a foundation for humanities research such as the Gazetteer of Japanese Place Names • Collaborative development of Geographical Information and Resource Sharing System for Humanities

3. Characteristics of the Digital Gazetteer • Dainihon Chimeijisho (The Dictionary of Place Names in Greater Japan) • Edited by Togo Yoshida (1864-1918) • In 1895, Yoshida decided to compile the Dictionary of Place Names since there were no standard dictionaries for place names in Japan. • The first edition was published in 1900 • Completed in 1907, spending 13 years on compiling • The first full scale, real dictionary of place names in Japan. • Still used as a basic source in historical geography more than 100 years after it was published

4. Dainihon Chimeijisho(The Dictionary of Place Names in Greater Japan)

5. Title of Dainihon Chimeijisho

6. Index of Dainihon Chimeijisho

7. Detail explanation of the historical studies and change of country names, county names, names of mountains, rivers, lakes, and harbors. • The index records 53,676 place names • Kanji, kana readings, and Romanizationof place names. • Geographical relations of country, county, and village. • Relations with the current city, town, and village. • Providing latitude and longitude.

8. Volume and issue numbers, pages of the corresponding sections of Dainihon Chimeijisho (The Dictionary of Place Names in Greater Japan) (*we are considering the expansion) • Adding the information on the change of place names • Index of the part of places (“Chi no Bu”) of Kojiruien • Index of place names written in ancient Japanese

9. Recording structure and Database management system • Recording structure • Adoption of XML (Extensible Markup Language) • Database management system • Adoption of MySQL • Characteristics of MySQL • simple and easy to introduce and apply • stable and rigid system • high-speed search • support SQL, standard database language with high utility value • collaboration with the Web and possibility to use many programming languages such as Perl • works with Japanese

10. What’s Shikinaisha ? • Shrines registered with Jinmyocho of Engishiki , a collection of laws and regulations on shrines • 2,861 shrines (3,132 za) in Japan • from the Tohoku region to Osumi, Satsuma in the south • Kinki region has a high distribution

11. What’s Engishiki ? • Code that collects detailed enforcement regulations such as ritsu, ryo, and kyaku in Heian period. • Compiled in 927 • It is like a reference dictionary covering political issues • It is a historical source essential for studying Heian period • 50 volumes • Jingi no hen (Jingishiki), volumes 1 to 10, are about shrines

13. Example of Geo-Data of Shikinaisha (Shrines)

14. A nation-wide distribution of shrines

15. A distribution of shrines in Yamato

16. A distribution of shrines in Ise, Iga, Shima (Mie prefecture)

17. Ise (Ise Shrine) :Mie Prefecture

18. A distribution of shrines in Izumo (Shimane prefecture)

19. Kitukino-taisya (Izumo Taisya) :Shimane

20. The distribution chart oｆ the number of shrines

21. The distribution chart showing the number of shrines in 2 steps (is presented here)

23. In the end • Construction of the Gazetteer of Japanese Place Names (by the end of this year) • Correlation with HGIS (Geographic Information Sharing System for Humanities)

24. Thank you