2006 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
The Origin, Development and Regional Differences of Cadastral Surveying in Early Meiji Japan
| Project/Area Number |
17520536
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
Human geography
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| Research Institution | Wakayama University |
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Principal Investigator |
SHIMAZU Toshiyuki Wakayama University, Faculty of education, Associate Professor (60216075)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2005 – 2006
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| Keywords | cadastre / Meiji Japan / Brussels / Eiichi Shibusawa / cadastral map / Geographical Institute / Bureau of Taxation / Vandermaelen |
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| Research Abstract |
This study attempted to clarify the origin, development and regional differences of cadastral surveying in early Meiji Japan. The author's assumption is that Eiichi Shibusawa, a famous entrepreneur in Meiji Japan, conceived a plan of cadastral survey in Japan as a consequence of his visit to Brussels and to the Etablissement geographique de Bruxelles in 1867. The Etablissement geographique de Bruxelles was erected by the Belgian geographer Philippe Vandermaelen (1795-1869) in 1830 (the year of the Belgian Revolution) in Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, a suburban district near the old built-up area of Brussels. Vandermaelen published a variety of atlases, maps and geographical dictionaries, and his famous "Atlas universel" and "Atlas de l'Europe" were distributed among many countries including Japan. The Etablissement geographique de Bruxelles played a crucial role in advancing Belgian sciences, although it was a wholly private institution. It received visits of such famous contemporary geographers as Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859) and Carl Ritter (1779-1859).Vandermaelen was also member of geographical societies in Paris, London, Berlin and St. Petersburg, all of which were established in the nineteenth century. The author confirmed Shibusawa's visit to the Etablissement geographique de Bruxelles, and perhaps Shibusawa saw the Belgian cadastral maps and cadastral books there. The development and regional differences of cadastral surveying were not sufficiently analyzed.
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