摘要：Aogashima is a very rocky and steep-sided volcanic island, situated in the ocean to the south of Tokyo, and almost isolated geographically and culturally because of its relative inaccessibility.We examined the physical capacity of 148 male and female islanders over the age of twenty years, for back muscle strength (1), grip strength (2), static balancing (3), match board test (4), tapping (5), reaction time (6), and closing-one-eye test (7) (refer to KoHARA's report, J. Anthr. Soc. Nippon, Vol. 63, No. 4).Except for the match board test, the males surpassed the females in all tests especially in those concerned with muscular strength (1, 2 ). A very striking decline was noted in each test with advancing age, especially in those tests requiring muscular strength, or in those relating to movements of the entire body (1, 2, 3), and on the other hand, there was relatively little decline in manual movements (4, 5, 6). Such results agree with the general fact that the aged become unable to perform whole body movements, but display often considerable efficiency in manual activity. Reaction time tests indicate clearly a loss of agility in the older people, although marked individual differences were noted. The fact that a trend tword decline in the closing-one-eye test (7) appears with advancing age, can not be explained.One of the cultural features of this island is for the older people to engage in more or less heavy works. Such a phenomenon seems to be due to the weakness of family-ties in this society, which require individualistic subsistence for aged people.
