Mountains Of Japan Research Articles

Contrasting evolutionary processes during Quaternary climatic changes and historical orogenies: a case study of the Japanese endemic primroses Primula sect. Reinii.

Recent biogeographic studies have illustrated that Quaternary climatic changes and historical orogenies have driven the development of high levels of biodiversity. In this context, phylogenetic niche conservatism may play a role as a major precursor of allopatric speciation. However, the effects of niche evolution on the diversification patterns of plant species under rapid habitat changes are still unknown. Here, Primula section Reinii, one of the few primroses endemic to the Japanese Archipelago, was investigated. This study aimed to clarify the phylogenetic position and relationships of section Reinii, interpret the biogeographic and diversification patterns of this group and gain a better understanding of the role of climatic niche evolution in the Japanese endemic primroses. Dated phylogeny for Primula section Reinii is presented based on the sequences of six chloroplast genes and one nuclear gene. Biogeographic history was reconstructed using statistical dispersal-vicariance analysis. Macro-evolutionary modelling of the climatic niche was combined with biogeographic inferences. Section Reinii was shown to be monophyletic based on chloroplast and nuclear sequences. Fossil-calibrated dating analysis estimated that this section diverged from its sister taxon, sect. Cortusoides, around 1.82 million years ago, and intraspecific diversification occurred within the last million years. This time frame was characterized by Quaternary climatic oscillations and uplift of high mountains in Japan. Biogeographic inference suggested that this section originated at the northern end of the Japanese Archipelago and then dispersed southward to other islands. Models of climatic niche evolution indicated that the closely related species P. reinii and P. tosanensis have contrasting niche optima and rates of niche evolution. Our results highlight that spatiotemporal heterogeneity in the Japanese islands may play a significant role in the biogeographic history of Japanese endemic primroses. Contrasting evolutionary processes found in closely related species illustrate the effects of climatic niche evolution on species' diversification patterns.

Development and characterization of 43 microsatellite markers for the critically endangered primrose Primula reinii using MiSeq sequencing

Primula reinii (Primulaceae), a perennial herb belonging to the Primula section Reinii, occurs on wet, shaded rocky cliffs in the mountains of Japan. This threatened species comprises four varieties; these plants are very localized and rare in the wild. In this study, 43 microsatellite markers were developed using MiSeq sequencing to facilitate conservation genetics of these critically endangered primroses. We developed novel microsatellite markers for three varieties of P. reinii, and tested its polymorphism and genetic diversity using natural populations. These novel markers displayed relatively high polymorphism; the number of alleles and expected heterozygosities ranged from 2 to 6 (mean = 3.2) and 0.13 to 0.82 (mean = 0.45), respectively. All loci were in Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium. These microsatellite markers will be powerful tools to assess P. reinii genetic diversity and develop effective conservation and management strategies.

森林, 林業と「社会的空白地域」 : 「森林と国土論 : 地理学からのアプローチ」 : 昭和62年度秋季学術大会シンポジウム

森林, 林業と「社会的空白地域」 : 「森林と国土論 : 地理学からのアプローチ」 : 昭和62年度秋季学術大会シンポジウム

Acidicapsa acidisoli sp. nov., from the acidic soil of a deciduous forest.

A bacterial strain designated strain SK-11T was isolated from the acidic soil of a deciduous forest in the Shirakami Mountains in Japan. Cells of strain SK-11T were aerobic, non-motile, Gram-stain-negative rods, 0.7-1.0 µm in width and 1.0-1.4 µm in length. The pH range for growth was between pH 4.0 and 5.5, with an optimum at pH 5.0. The temperature range for growth was between 10 and 35 °C, with an optimum at around 25-30 °C. Strain SK-11T utilized various carbohydrates as growth substrates as well as yeast extract and protein hydrolysates. The major cellular fatty acids (>10 % of total fatty acid contents) were iso-C15 : 0 (55.4 %), iso-C17 : 0 (16.7 %) and iso-C17 : 1ω9c/10 methyl-hexadecanoic acid (17.7 %). The major respiratory quinone was MK-8. The polar lipids consisted of phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol, two unidentified phospholipids and an unidentified polar lipid. The DNA G+C content of strain SK-11T was 56.9 %. Phylogenetic analysis based on the 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that strain SK-11T belonged to the family Acidobacteriaceae within subdivision 1 of the phylum Acidobacteria, and the closest relatives of strain SK-11T were Acidicapsa ligni WH120T and Acidicapsa borealis KA1T, with 16S rRNA gene sequence similarities of 96.6 and 96.5 %, respectively. On the basis of the evidence from our polyphasic study, we concluded that strain SK-11T represents a novel species of the genus Acidicapsa, and propose the name Acidicapsa acidisoli sp. nov. The type strain of Acidicapsaacidisolisp nov. is SK-11T (=DSM 100508T=NBRC 111227T).

Mountain Mandalas: Shugendō in Kyushu by Allan G. Grapard

Reviewed by: Mountain Mandalas: Shugendō in Kyushu by Allan G. Grapard Heather Blair (bio) Mountain Mandalas: Shugendō in Kyushu. By Allan G. Grapard. Bloomsbury, London, 2016. xviii, 301 pages. $114.00, cloth; $39.95, paper; $85.00, E-book. Over the last several decades, Allan Grapard has exerted a powerful influence on English-language research on Japanese religions. By insisting upon the importance of place-based institutional history, he has informed a spate [End Page 403] of books on the interaction of Buddhism and kami worship at particular sites. Those focusing on mountains include Sarah Thal's Rearranging the Landscape of the Gods on Konpira (2005), D. Max Moerman's Localizing Paradise on Kumano (2005), Barbara Ambros's Emplacing a Mountain on Ōyama (2008), my own Real and Imagined on Kinpusen (2015), and Anna Andreeva's Assembling Medieval Shintō on Mt. Miwa (2017). Mountain Mandalas thus fits into an ongoing trend that is partly of Grapard's own making. The book aims to illuminate the creation and maintenance of sacred sites in a regional context through a "geohistorical synthesis." It uses Shugendō, and, to a lesser extent, rites of kami worship, as examples and focuses on Mt. Hiko, Usa, and Kunisaki, three distinct but related and adjacent zones in northern Kyushu. As Grapard is at justifiable pains to remind us, Kyushu remains much understudied despite the richness of its history. In each of these domains—the methodological, the thematic, and the geographic—the book's overwhelming concern is with spatiality. Happily, its pages are graced by a number of carefully rendered maps as well as several helpful charts and illustrations. Grapard has also furnished a valuable appendix in the form of translations of key sources (an eighteenth-century list of ritual sites in Kunisaki and three engi texts: Hikosan ruki, Chinzei Hikosan engi, and Rokugō kaizan Ninmon daibosatsu hongi). It is freely available through Bloomsbury's website and is a boon to any reader interested in Mt. Hiko, Kunisaki, or the genre of engi (a term Grapard translates as "etiological records"). Mountain Mandalas is thought provoking, and Grapard's prose, ever inventive and sometimes even amazing, makes it a fun read. For me, it raised two persistent, and I think worthwhile, questions: is this book actually about Shugendō? And what is Shugendō, anyway? Early on, Grapard glosses this term, as slippery as it is seductive, as "Japan's mountain cults" (p. xii) and as "an institutional and ritual system that was elaborated over a period of several centuries on the basis of various cults in the mountains of Japan" (p. 1). Either definition has the virtues of inclusivity and flexibility; however, neither explains how location does—or does not—turn specific practices (say, esoteric Buddhist rites or the worship of Hachiman as practiced in the mountains) into "Shugendō." There are good historiographical reasons for adopting a narrower, more specific definition. Beginning in the 1990s and continuing into the 2000s, Japanese historians like Hasegawa Kenji and Tokunaga Seiko pointed out that mountain practitioners (yamabushi, geza/genja) were active well before Shugendō coalesced as an organized religious movement. To maximize clarity and avoid anachronism, my own preference has therefore been to define Shugendō as "a religious movement (1) with its own organizational hierarchies, institutions, rites, and texts, and (2) recognized by both participants and observers as distinct from other [End Page 404] modes of religious practice."1 Viewed in this light, Shugendō cannot be said to have emerged prior to the Kamakura and Muromachi periods, for it was at that time that it differentiated, both organizationally and discursively, from the hybrid kenmitsu Buddhism and affiliated kami cults that dominated so much of medieval religious life. Grapard's interest in the creation of social difference and the political effects of ritual certainly puts him into sympathy with historicist analysis. He also explicitly positions himself against approaches that essentialize Shugendō as a timeless folk religion (p. 2) and later provides some discussion of social and political organization at Mt. Hiko and Kunisaki during the Kamakura, Muromachi, and Edo periods (pp. 157–68, 216–23). Nevertheless, his approach is one in which semiotics trumps historicism, and I became a happier reader once I stopped expecting...

842. ACER MICRANTHUM

SummaryAcer micranthum, a small‐leaved maple from the mountains of Japan, is illustrated. Its position in the genus and cultivation are discussed.

847. FRITILLARIA KIUSIANA

SummaryFritillaria kiusiana L. Hill, a new species from the Kyushu Central Mountains in Japan, is illustrated and described. Its ecology, genetics and conservation are discussed and instructions for its cultivation are given.

Chemical weathering rates in granitic mountains in Japan

Chemical weathering rates in granitic mountains in Japan

Envisioning and Observing Women's Exclusion from Sacred Mountains in Japan

Envisioning and Observing Women's Exclusion from Sacred Mountains in Japan

Altitudinal Variation of Flavonoid Content in the Leaves of Fallopia japonica and the Needles of Larix kaempferi on Mt. Fuji

Ultraviolet-B radiation is harmful to plants, and its intensity increases at altitude. So plants growing at high altitude possess UV protection systems. Flavonoid is known as a major UV protectant because it absorbs UV radiation and scavenges UV-induced free radicals in plant tissues. Japanese knotweed (Fallopia japonica) and Japanese larch (Larix kaempferi) grow at a wide range of altitudes on Mt. Fuji, the highest mountain in Japan, while the two plants harbor a homogeneous genetic structure. In the present study, a total of 14 flavonol 3-O-glycosides were isolated from both species. Furthermore, quantitative HPLC analyses revealed that flavonoid levels in the leaves of F. japonica and the needles of L. kaempferi increased with increasing altitude of their growing sites. The altitudinal trend of UV-absorbing antioxidants of herbal and woody plants was simultaneously revealed for the first time. These results suggest that both species have chemically acclimatized to high altitude regions, in which severe environmental conditions such as higher UV radiation exist.

Microbes in Groundwater of a Volcanic Mountain, Mt. Fuji; 16S rDNA Phylogenetic Analysis as a Possible Indicator for the Transport Routes of Groundwater

Huge groundwater reserves are under the foot of Mt. Fuji, the tallest volcanic mountain in Japan, and the residence time of the groundwater as estimated from the 36Cl/Cl isotope ratio is in the range of 20–35 years. All springwater samples contain nearly saturated concentrations of oxygen. The groundwater field was separated into four areas based on regional slopes of the groundwater table and estimated groundwater flow directions. Springwater samples showed that physicochemical characteristics of the groundwater in the region are relatively constant; Ion concentrations were characterized as the Ca-HCO3 type, irrespective of location at the foot of the mountain. The density of prokaryotes in the springwater, which was in the range of 102–104 cells mL−1, was low compared with any other groundwater so far reported. Although the density of prokaryotes was low, retrieved clones show that the prokaryotes belonged to eight bacterial and two archaeal phyla, and included both aerobic and obligate anaerobic prokaryotes. Some retrieved clones were related to thermophilic prokaryotes, which are optimally adapted to temperatures greater than 40°C. This finding suggests that at least some of the source of the groundwater was located at a depth of 600 m or greater, based on a temperature gradient of 4°C/100 m. This depth is far below the lava layer which was taken to be a substantial pool of groundwater. Microbiological information may provide insight into the transport route of groundwater until it emerges.

Veraphis yoshitomii sp. n. (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, Scydmaeninae) from Japan.

A new species of Eutheiini, Veraphis yoshitomii sp. n. is described from Shikoku, Japan. Diagnostic characters are discussed and key structures, including the aedeagus, are illustrated. The new species belongs to the Veraphis japonicus species group, which includes five species distributed in mountains of Japan and five possibly closely related ones in the sub-Himalayan China. The distribution of Japanese Veraphis is summarized and discussed.

Paenibacillus shirakamiensis sp. nov., isolated from the trunk surface of a Japanese oak (Quercus crispula)

A novel bacterial strain designated P-1T was isolated from the trunk surface of a Japanese oak (Quercus crispula) growing in the Shirakami Mountains in Japan. Cells of strain P-1T were Gram-stain-negative, ellipsoidal endospore-forming, aerobic, slightly acidophilic rods, 0.8×2-5 µm, and motile by means of peritrichous flagella. Various carbohydrates could be used as growth substrates, but none of the organic acids tested were used. The major cellular fatty acid was anteiso-C15:0, which accounted for 64.2% of the total fatty acids. The major respiratory quinone was menaquinone 7 (MK-7). Strain P-1T contained phosphatidylglycerol, diphosphatidylglycerol and phosphatidylethanolamine, four unidentified aminolipids, an unidentified phospholipid and two unidentified polar lipids. Strain P-1T shared the highest 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity with Paenibacillus pini S22T (96.6%), followed by Paenibacillus chibensis JCM 9905T (96.1%) and Paenibacillus anaericanus MH21T (95.9%). The DNA G+C content was 43.9 mol%. These data indicate that strain P-1T represents a novel species within the genus Paenibacillus, for which we propose the name Paenibacillus shirakamiensis sp. nov. The type strain is P-1T (NBRC 109471T=DSM 26806T=KCTC 33126T=CIP 110571T).

Roseomonas aceris sp. nov. isolated from a mono maple tree in the Shirakami Mountains in Japan

A novel bacterial strain belonging to the genus Roseomonas was isolated from the trunk surface of a mono maple (Acer mono) tree growing in the Shirakami Mountains. The strain, designated R-1(T), was Gram-negative, non-motile, and oval-rod, and formed reddish colonies on agar plates, as has previously been described for Roseomonas species. Although motility was not observed, cells were peritrichously flagellated. Strain R-1(T) preferred organic acids over carbohydrates as growth substrates. The major cellular fatty acid was C₁₈:₁ ω7c (48.79%). Ubiquinone-10 was the major respiratory quinone. Strain R-1(T) demonstrated the highest 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity with Roseomonas pecuniae N75(T) (96.9%). Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences confirmed that strain R-1(T) was a member of the genus Roseomonas and formed a cluster with R. pecuniae N75(T). DNA-DNA hybridization between strain R-1(T) and R. pecuniae N75(T) yielded 21.7% relatedness. On the basis of its phenotypic, phylogenetic, and chemotaxonomic char-acteristics, strain R-1(T) represents a novel species within the genus Roseomonas, for which the name Roseomonas aceris sp. nov. has been proposed. The type strain is R-1(T) (NBRC 109410(T) = DSM 26554 (T)).

Deformation fabrics of natural blueschists and implications for seismic anisotropy in subducting oceanic crust

Investigations of microstructures are crucial if we are to understand the seismic anisotropy of subducting oceanic crust, and here we report on our systematic fabric analyses of glaucophane, lawsonite, and epidote in naturally deformed blueschists from the Diablo Range and Franciscan Complex in California, and the Hida Mountains in Japan. Glaucophanes in the analyzed samples consist of very fine grains that are well aligned along the foliation and have high aspect ratios and strong crystal preferred orientations (CPOs) characterized by a (100)[001] pattern. These characteristics, together with a bimodal distribution of grain sizes from some samples, possibly indicate the occurrence of dynamic recrystallization for glaucophane. Although lawsonite and epidote display high aspect ratios and a strong CPO of (001)[010], the occurrence of straight grain boundaries and euhedral crystals indicates that rigid body rotation was the dominant deformation mechanism. The P-wave (AVP) and S-wave (AVS) seismic anisotropies of glaucophane (AVP=20.4%, AVS=11.5%) and epidote (AVP=9.0%, AVS=8.0%) are typical of the crust; consequently, the fastest propagation of P-waves is parallel to the [001] maxima, and the polarization of S-waves parallel to the foliation can form a trench-parallel seismic anisotropy owing to the slowest VS polarization being normal to the subducting slab. The seismic anisotropy of lawsonite (AVP=9.6%, AVS=19.9%) is characterized by the fast propagation of P-waves subnormal to the lawsonite [001] maxima and polarization of S-waves perpendicular to the foliation and lineation, which can generate a trench-normal anisotropy. The AVS of lawsonite blueschist (5.6–9.2%) is weak compared with that of epidote blueschist (8.4–11.1%). Calculations of the thickness of the anisotropic layer indicate that glaucophane and lawsonite contribute to the trench-parallel and trench-normal seismic anisotropy beneath NE Japan, but not to that beneath the Ryukyu arc. Our results demonstrate, therefore, that lawsonite has a strong influence on seismic velocities in the oceanic crust, and that lawsonite might be the cause of complex anisotropic patterns in subduction zones.

Semiotics of Japan's Mountain Ascetics

Semiotics of Japan's Mountain Ascetics

Long-range ground deformation measurement using interferometric synthetic aperture radar data on both up-going and down-going orbits

Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) is a technique for mapping subtle surface deformations over a two-dimensional areas with high spatial resolution. The objective of this study is to evaluate the capability of InSAR analysis using both up-going and down-going orbits data for monitoring the long-range ground deformation caused by the environmental disaster. Differential InSAR (DInSAR) analysis and InSAR time series analysis were performed around disaster areas of the Kirishima Mountains in Japan (Fig. 1). The data used in this study were images from the Advanced Land Observation Satellite/Phased Array Synthetic Aperture Radar (ALOS/ PALSAR) observed from 2007 to 2011. We performed DInSAR analysis and InSAR time-series analysis with a commercial software and attempted to precisely estimate vertical and horizontal displacements by using the vector composition method from the observation data of both orbits. The results show that InSAR analysis is effective for the disaster monitoring of volcanic eruptions. Uplift and subsidence were detected around the Kirishima Mountains before the last eruption on January 26, 2011. This result suggests that long-range InSAR analysis has a capability to detect the symptoms of volcanic eruptions.

Dosimetry of cosmic radiation in the troposphere based on the measurements at the summit of Mt. Fuji

Abstract Dose rate of cosmic-ray origin neutrons (abbreviated to “cosmic neutrons”) at aviation altitude was estimated based on the measurements at Mt. Fuji. Cosmic neutrons were measured in a facility of the Mt. Fuji Weather Station located at the summit of Mt. Fuji, the highest mountain in Japan (3776 m in altitude), in the summer of 2008 and 2009. The average of 1 cm ambient dose equivalent H*(10) for two measurements was verified by numerical model simulation and then used to empirically estimate the solar force field potential (FFP). The H*(10) rates at aviation altitude estimated from the measurements at Mt. Fuji were compared to those obtained in in-flight measurements onboard a civilian aircraft flying near Mt. Fuji at the time between the two measurements at the mountain. According to the results obtained, we expect that the empirical estimation based on the measurements at Mt. Fuji will work effectively for dosimetry of cosmic radiation in troposphere.

バイオマス燃料の流体化のさまざまな道

A lot of forest-biomass exists on the steep mountain in Japan. However, it is very difficult to obtain the forest-biomass like brushwood, from the deep mountain to human habitation. Using by chute, brushwood can be transported automatically if we can keep an appropriate slope gradient. The most important point is a repose angle of chip on the slope. These angles are strongly depending on the figure of chip, the aspect ratio, and the surface roughness of the chute bed.

<strong><em>Mannia pilosa</em> (Aytoniaceae, Marchantiophyta) — new to the Japanese Flora</strong>

Mannia pilosa (Hornem.) Frye & L.Clark, a circumpolar species widely distributed in arctic-alpine regions was newly found from Mt. Kitadake, with its 3192 m peak the second highest mountain in Japan. Plants of M. pilosa were growing in an alpine meadow on a limestone outcrop about 400 m south of the peak at 35°40’ N, 138º 14’ E, ca. 3000 m alt. The isolated Japanese population for M. pilosa seems to be a glacial relict. New information on spore morphology using SEM and habitat of the Japanese plants is provided.