Researchers Propose Resolution-Aware Mapping for Japanese Yokai Archives

The research paper “From Point Anchors to Geospatial Support: A Resolution-Aware Representation of Toponymic and Non-Toponymic Place Evidence in a Japanese Yokai Archive” was published in the ISPRS Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences (Volume L-4/W1-2026) on August 29, 2026. The study was conducted by researchers Kosuke Shimizu, Hiroki Ichikura, Riri Ikebe, and Mirai Hoshikawa. The presented work was supported by The Nippon Foundation HUMAI Program.

The researchers address spatial representation issues that frequently arise in folklore archives, where mapping administrative representative points for events can imply higher geospatial precision than the source data warrants. To resolve this discrepancy, the authors propose a resolution-aware representation system designed specifically for toponymic and non-toponymic place evidence in Japanese Yokai records. This model clearly distinguishes display anchors from underlying support areas, offering a refined framework for spatial analysis in folklore studies.