地学雑誌 Journal of Geography（Chigaku Zasshi） 130（2）143­146 2021 doi:10.5026/jgeography.130.143 Overview of the Special Issue “Local Records of Natural Disaster Events: A Wealth of Spatiotemporal Information for Future Use” ＊ ＊＊ Masaki IWAFUNE , Toshikazu TAMURA , ＊＊＊ ＊＊＊＊ Keisuke MATSUI and Takashi TODOKORO Any natural disaster consists of various nat- occurrence in the local area （Iwafune, 2018; ural and human-related events that occur suc- Iwafune and Tamura, 2018）. Such information cessively following a source geophysical process on the occurrence of events and how they inter- and affecting human lives in many ways. Each relate in a local area applies to other areas and event varies in terms of spatial scale, initiation future ages. time, and duration, and affects human activi- The article by Tamura and Iwafune（ 2021） ties differently across several disaster phases. reviews numerous reports of large tsunami Therefore, the reports of a disaster need to disasters on the Sanriku Coast, Northeastern record each event’s spatiotemporal occurrence Japan, since the late 19th century. Most reports and relationships between events. Among the of 1896, 1933, and 1960 tsunami disasters were various kinds of disaster report, those focusing prepared by local intellectuals in the affected on local areas are particularly expected to care- areas supported, in some cases, by municipal- fully record the information mentioned above. ities. After the 2011 tsunami, most stricken Ten years after the beginning of the 2011 Great municipalities published reports with financial East Japan Earthquake Disaster, many survey assistance from the national government. Some reports from various perspectives have describ- of them received reporting and editing assis- ed this huge and complex disaster. This special tance from outside experts, including scholars issue focuses on local reports of the 2011 disas- and journalists. Based on a critical analysis of ter and other natural disasters. the above, this special issue aims to identify The contents of local reports of a natural useful information that can be found in per- disaster vary depending on publishing bodies, sonal- and local-scale disaster records and to report writers, informants, etc. Although res- propose an effective report-creation system. idents of an affected area are often important Disaster archives provide an effective means witnesses to various disaster events on a per- for managing and disseminating disaster- sonal and local scale, they are in many cases related materials and information. Suzuki inexperienced in recording with spatiotemporal （2021） traces the history of disaster archives accuracy. Practical support from experienced on repeated tsunami disasters in the Sanriku researchers or journalists, using appropriate coastal area. Then, she looks at archive man- maps and photos, can effectively extract and or- agement projects developed in recent years in ganize the residents’ observations and personal various areas of Japan and points out problems experiences as primary sources of the event’s in collecting, organizing, preserving, and uti- ＊ Institute for Comprehensive Education, Kagoshima University, Kagoshima, 890-0065, Japan ＊＊ Professor emeritus, Tohoku University, Sendai, 980-8578, Japan ＊＊＊ Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, 305-8572, Japan ＊＊＊＊ Professor emeritus, Takasaki City University of Economics, Takasaki, 370-0801, Japan ― 143 ― lizing materials. These issues impact the utili- life to continue in affected local areas, the sys- zation of disaster archives not only as a basis tems for supplying and distributing food and for the residents’ actions in future disaster pre- daily necessities require a particularly swift vention and mitigation, but also in specialized response and recovery. This is necessary not research and administrative measures. only to resume commercial activities but also to Actual damage from various natural disasters maintain and rebuild daily life in communities. frequently depends on an area’s geomorphic Komaki et al. （2021） trace the revival and conditions. Kuroki（ 2021） conducts a compara- reorganization processes of retail shops and tive investigation of previous disaster reports shopping centers based on a spatial analysis on geomorphic changes caused during disasters of the records of a shopkeepers’ association in and geomorphic conditions that induce, ampli- Yamada Town. The results are compared to fy, mitigate, or prevent damage. The investiga- cases of recovery and reconstruction from other tion reveals differences in the presentation of disasters. geo morphic information among reports. Some Shifting location is an important choice reports indicate important information about for many settlements damaged severely by a damage on maps, while others show only simple tsunami. Tamura and Seto （2021） conduct a geographic locations. Kuroki suggests that comparative study on the location and reloca- geomorphic information is useful for damage tion behaviors of three neighboring settlements mitigation and prevention and how the infor- south of Yamada with similar geomorphic set- mation can be presented clearly. In addition, he tings and similar histories of repeated tsunami argues that some bureaucratic factors hinder damage. After a geomorphological investigation the smooth communication of appropriate geo- of the piedmont gentle slopes and coastal morphic information using suitable maps. lowlands utilized as settlement locations and Although evacuation life records contain a retracing tsunami damage and location/relo- wealth of knowledge for the response phases of cation history, the study infers the reasons for future emergencies, they tend to be discarded the different recognitions and evaluations of officially or privately, citing the need to protect given geomorphic resources depending on set- personal information as the reason. At a few tlement and tsunami event. The differences are evacuation shelters in Yamada Town on the considered to be greatly influenced by the dif- mid-Sanriku coast, which was severely dam- ferent weights and influences that fishing and aged by the 2011 tsunami, some resident lead- farming have on livelihood, as well as changing ers kept records out of personal consideration fishing harvests, in each tsunami-sensitive and these are valuable primary sources of the settlement. disaster. Tamura and Iwafune （2021） briefly Egawa and Mori（ 2021） introduce “Indexes introduce an example of a nutritional analysis for Recovery and Reconstruction Following the based on the menu record of meals supplied by Great East Japan Earthquake” devised by the neighbor residents at a small shelter in a fisher Nippon Institute for Research Advancement settlement. Abe et al.（ 2021） provide a demo- （NIRA） to evaluate the progress of recovery and graphic study of 4,011 evacuees in the town reconstruction of the three affected prefectures: center area using both detailed lists of 830 Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima. This approach evacuees at two big shelters and records offi- is applied in the implementation of “evidence- cially announced by the municipality. The study based policymaking （EBP）.” A comparison of reveals the characteristics of entrance-exit these indexes and compiled statistical data behavior, the relations between residence and that were retained and provided by the respec- refuge locations, family composition, etc. tive afflicted municipalities shows the state of Within the various activities taking place various indicators and their pre-disaster levels at shelters and temporary housing that allow quantitatively and indicates the recovery status. ― 144 ― This study is an experiment that attempts to support from the national government. Their connect local-scale and regional-scale data. contents, composition, and expression vary The Great East Japan Earthquake Disaster depending on intention, editing processes, and of 2011 is an unprecedented natural disaster other factors, and even inconsiderate routine in Japan because it consists of not only direct handling is occasionally found in their compo- damage caused by destructive seismic vibration sition and descriptions（ Tamura and Iwafune, and tsunami flooding, but also various ongoing 2021）. Many municipalities seem to consider physical and social damage due to pervasive rather restrictively the publication of reports and long-term radioactive contamination from as a tool for preserving memories of a disaster the nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi for future residents in administrative areas. On Power Station. The nuclear disaster is still on- the other hand, some natural disaster research- going. In preparation for a more comprehensive ers tend to ignore local reports as research report on the nuclear disaster, Seto （2021） materials. For more efficient and wise use of introduces issues that became clear in the public funds and publication opportunities, and process of collecting, preserving, and exhibiting for a more comprehensive and accurate under- disaster materials at the newly established standing of the complex characters of natural nuclear disaster memorial museum. The study disasters, it is imperative to discuss a system emphasizes major differences compared to con- for planning, editing, disseminating, and ana- ventional historical disaster materials, such as lyzing local reports. This special issue promotes diversity of materials, copyrights, and consider- such a debate. ation of type of medium. Notes In the process of recording a disaster,