GX 339-4 was observed with the large area counters (LAC) onboard Ginga in its very high state, where the X-ray intensity was about a factor of 2-3 larger than its high state and it showed very rapid variations on time scales of less than several minutes, which had not been observed earlier in the high state of this source. The X-ray energy spectrum was very soft; it consisted of a low-energy component and a high-energy tail. The low-energy component could be interpreted as being due to disk blackbody radiation (the disk blackbody component) and the high-energy tail as being due to Compton-scattering radiation (the Comptonized blackbody component). The X-ray energy spectrum also showed K-edge absorption of highly ionized iron atoms of about 10(19) cm-2 and an iron emission line with an equivalent width of about 60-100 eV. On short time scales of less than several minutes, the X-rays showed rapid time variations. For instance, in power spectral density functions, 6 Hz quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs), very low frequency noise (VLF noise), and low-frequency noise (LF noise) were recognized. There are three types of power spectral density functions. Time variations such as dips and flip-flops were also observed. These rapid time variations are due to the Comptonized blackbody component. On long time scales larger than hours, the disk blackbody component and the Comptonized blackbody component changed independently. However, these changes took place within some restricted regions in an X-ray hardness ratio (color)-intensity or a color-color diagrams. These are a hardness ratio increasing (with the X-ray flux) branch, a hardness ratio decreasing branch, and their crossing region. These two energy spectral branches and their crossing region have three different types of power density spectra: these different branches and regions have different time variations on time scales of less than several minutes. In the hardness ratio increasing branch, the hard Compton-scattering component is the main cause of the long-term time variation of the X-ray flux, and in the hardness ratio decreasing branch, the disk blackbody component is the main cause of the long-term time variation of the X-ray flux. On a time lag versus Fourier period diagram, the time lag between time variations of different energy X-rays showed shoulder structures in addition to the large time lags at large Fourier periods similar to those observed in Cygnus X-1. The time variations of the X-rays of 2.3-4.6 keV were most advanced: time variations of X-rays with both lower and higher energy than 2.3-4.6 keV showed time lags relative to those of 2.3-4.6 keV X-rays. These facts together with the X-ray energy spectrum can be explained in terms of a high-energy component being due to a Compton-scattering cloud of size of about 10(9) cm, temperature kT(e) of about 30 keV, and Thomson scattering depth of about 0.5-1.0; the variable blackbody radiation with kT = approximately 1 keV is incident to the large Compton-scattering cloud.
