A study was made of the applicability of ion exchange resin (IER) in measuring the movement of various elements, especially cations, by water within forest soil. The size of the bag needed and the method for preparing the IER and extracting ions adsorbed on the IER were established by laboratory testing. IER was prepared and then buried for six months under soil in sugi (Cryptomeria japonica) and hinoki (Chamaecyparis obtusa) forests at depths of 5,20,and 50cm. The amounts of Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, K⁺, and Inorg-N absorbed at 5cm were several times greater than at 20 or 50cm. At 50cm, the amounts per unit area of all the elements except Na^+ were nearly equal to those in the stream discharge. Further study is needed of the interaction of soil water with the IER bag and surrounding soil, the effect that drying of soil has on the IER ability to adsorb ions, and the effects that root elongation and microbe activity within the IER bag have on the elements adsorbed on the IER.