The author encountered the Japanese word sharyohyo (sediment staff gauge) in the context of Japanese sediment and erosion control engineering (known as sabo in Japanese) and, through field research and the study of reference materials, was able to confirm more than ten uses of the word in an old stone pillar and old reports. As a result, the author was able to determine that a syaryohyo was a kind of benchmark used for measuring riverbed and hillside elevation. This paper describes an investigation of sediment transport processes in drainage basins conducted with reference to sharyohyo and relevant old reports from the early days of sediment and erosion control engineering, and the filling in of data missing from records from the Meiji Era to the early years of the Showa Era. In addition, the importance of continuity in conducting observations and data collection in the field of erosion control is described.

Key words�FSyaryohyo (sediment staff gauge), sediment transport process in drainage basins, riverbed variation, hillside variation