Fire has direct, important effects not only on the global carbon cycle and atmospheric chemistry, but also in regulating terrestrial ecosystems and biodiversity. Sedimentary charcoal records provide insights into changes in the past fire regimes. Recently, charcoal records showed greater-than-present fire activity during the late glacial and early post-glacial periods in Japan. It is considered that evaluating the past fire regimes and their impacts on terrestrial ecosystems becomes increasingly important in palaeoecology. There are, however, few theoretical and empirical studies to clarify the sedimentation patterns of charcoal fragments in Japan. Edajima is an island in Hiroshima Bay, southwestern Japan. The coastal region along the Seto Inland Sea, including this island, is the driest in Japan, and therefore fires are frequently occurred at this region. In this island, irrigation ponds and water source dams are abundant. Sediment cores were collected at these basins with different sizes and proximities to fire-disturbed areas for pollen and charcoal analyses. The chronology of the cores was estimated based on Pb-210 dating. The past fires and land uses were also explored using actual historical materials. In this study, we verify how pollen and charcoal records are useful for reconstructing the past fire regimes and floristic composition.