Transition of Land-use and Changes of Landscape Perception in Tourist Magazine in Yoshinoyama, Nara Prefecture

It is said that cherry tree planting in Yoshino has the history of 1300 years, and tens of thousands of cherries can be found today. However, there is no detailed record about planted location, numbers, etc. This research is the first quantitative analysis of landscape change in Yoshino. We defined a study area of 516 ha and picked up 3 periods (the Meiji era, 1970s, and the present), then sorted land use of each era with ArcGIS (Esri). The information sources we used were cadastral maps (made in 1881-1887) for the Meiji era, and aerial photographs for 1970s and the present. We also surveyed the contents of the oldest Japanese tourism magazine, Tabi, to clarify the trend of tourism both at local and national level, and the people’s perception of landscape in Yoshino. Yoshino region has changed from an agricultural commune to a tourist resort, and experienced the expansive afforestation between these two ages. This study clearly showed the transition of land use and resulting landscape under the influence of these social/communal conditions. In addition, changes in people’s perception of landscape of cherry trees were also pointed out.