A set of source rupture models for the 1997 Yamaguchi, Japan, earthquake are constructed using an inversion analysis of strong-motion data. Synthetic Green functions and empirical Green functions (EGF) are adopted for a low-frequency band and a high-frequency band, respectively. Slip zones in the high-frequency models correspond to the edge of the large slip zones of low-frequency models in space and to the rupture onset in time. The calculated slip-stress relations show that the stress decrease rate is more rapid in the high-frequency models and that there is little slip at a constant stress level in all the models. ¿ 1999 American Geophysical Union