ABSTRACT
Landforms are shaped by tectonic movement and sculptured by denudational processes. W.M. Davis deduced landform development by denudational processes, postulating prolonged stillstand of landmass following rapid uplift. Geomorphological study has been mainly directed to denudational processes and their products with little consideration of tectonics. Tectonic geomorphology has been developed in areas, clarifying sequences and regional characteristics of tectonic activity. To understand the landforms of Japan properly, it is necessary to assess effects of denudational processes on landform development in terms of their magnitude and frequency. The Davisian explanation of landform development by successive uplift and denudation, therefore, may be applied to the highland with the minor modification that weak denudational processes have acted concurrently with uplift. A new framework of landform development by concurrent uplift and denudation, therefore, should be devised to explain their evolution. To elucidate landform development in tectonically active areas, it is essential to investigate changes in height of mountains by concurrent tectonic and denudational processes.
