Local History

This is one of the trends in Japanese history research that developed after the Pacific War. It criticized the fact that Japanese history up until that point had been centered on the political trends and great people of the central government and was colored by the Imperial view of history, and instead took a position that emphasized the history of the local people. It developed as part of the national history movement, which argued that the history of producers and the oppressed, such as the history of workers and farmers and the history of women, should be placed at the center. On the other hand, reflecting on the fact that local history before the war had been limited to the excavation of famous people who boasted about their country and a narrow regional perspective, it sought to find the laws of historical development in various places, or to find the role of local areas in the overall picture of history. In particular, local history was linked to the issues that the historical world was facing at the time, such as the collapse of the landlord system due to the reform of farmland and the overcoming of the various forms of feudal relics in Japan, and there was a sense that local history was centered on early modern history, but in recent years, influenced by folklore, geography, archaeology, anthropology, etc., there has been an increase in research focusing on specific medieval and modern regions.

In 1950, the Local History Research Council was formed as an organization to integrate local history researchers and groups nationwide, and small research groups were formed in various regions, and many research journals were published. Based on this foundation, the compilation of history by local governments, such as city, town, and prefecture histories, became popular from the 1950s onwards, and many local history researchers joined in this. In addition to general histories, it became common for local government histories to also compile thick volumes of historical materials. This was related to the fact that rapid modernization and the dissolution of village communities led to the destruction of cultural assets, mainly local documents, and that preventing this was considered the social responsibility of local history researchers. At the same time, this reflected a movement to establish archives and local history museums in each local government, and to establish a democratic system for the use of historical materials as well as the preservation and organization of historical materials. These movements to compile local histories and establish preservation institutions involve not only researchers but also ordinary local residents, which contrasts sharply with academic histories centered on universities. However, while empirical analysis of each region in Japan has deepened, there is reflection that an original methodology for local history that integrates and theorizes has not yet been established. There is also criticism that the focus on Japanese history has been lacking a global perspective, and that the critical character of the original histories has been diluted.

The concept of regional history began to be used around 1975, but this book points out that regional history has had an ambiguous relationship with national history, and proposes reconstructing the image of regional or local history.

[Susumu Kitahara]

"Local History Research Council (ed.), 'Local History Research,' all seven volumes (1982-83, Meishu Publishing)" ▽ "Kimura Soji, 'Living Local History' (1984, Nihon Keizai Hyoronsha)" ▽ "Yokokawa Sueyoshi, 'Walking through Local History -- Tosa' (1982, Tosa Historical Society)" ▽ "Kitahara Susumu, 'How to Read and Research Early Modern Rural Documents' (1981, Yuzankaku Publishing)" ▽ "Saito Hiroshi, 'The Birth of Regional Corporate Histories' (1986, Shinhyoron)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

太平洋戦争後発達した、日本史研究思潮の一つ。それまでの日本史学が中央権力の政治動向や偉人を中心とし、皇国史観に彩られていたことを批判し、地方民衆の歴史を重視する立場にたつ。労働者・農民の歴史や女性史など、生産者・被支配者の歴史こそ中心に置かれねばならないとする、国民的歴史学運動の一環として発達した。一方、戦前からの郷土史が、お国自慢的な有名人の発掘や、狭い地域的視野に閉じこもっていたことを反省して、歴史発展の法則を各地でみいだし、あるいは歴史の全体像のなかで有する地方の役割をみいだそうとした。ことに農地解放による地主制の崩壊、多様な形でみられる日本的な封建遺制の克服といった、当時の歴史学界が当面していた課題と結び付いて、地方史は近世史を中心に展開した感があったが、近年は民俗学、地理学、考古学、人類学などの影響もあって、中世・近代の特定の地方を取り上げた研究が多くなった。

　1950年（昭和25）地方史研究者・団体を全国的に統合する機関として、地方史研究協議会が結成され、さらに各地にも小研究団体が生まれ、数多くの研究誌が発行された。その基礎にたって、昭和30年代以降、市町村史・県史などの自治体による歴史編纂(へんさん)が盛行するようになり、多くの地方史研究者がこれに加わるようになった。自治体史は通史編のほかに、分厚な史料編も編集されることが一般的となったが、これは、急速な近代化と村落共同体の解体に伴い、地方文書(じかたもんじょ)類を中心とする文化財の湮滅(いんめつ)が進み、その防止が地方史研究者の社会的責務とされたこととかかわっている。同時にそれは、各自治体に文書館・郷土資料館を設立し、史料類の保存・整理とともに、民主的な史料利用体制を確立しようとする運動にも反映している。こうした地方史の編集や保存機関の設立運動には、研究者のみならず一般の地域住民の参加がみられ、大学を中心としたアカデミズムの歴史学とは好対照をなしている。けれども、日本における各地域の実証分析は深化した反面、総合し理論化する、独自の地方史方法論をまだ樹立するに至ってないとする反省がある。また日本史に集中してグローバルな視座を欠き、初発にもっていた批判的歴史学の性格が薄くなったという批判がある。

　1975年前後から地域史という概念が使われるようになったが、これまでの地方史が国家史との関係をあいまいにしてきた点をつき、地方または地域の歴史像を再構成することを提唱している。

［北原　進］

『地方史研究協議会編『地方史研究』全七冊（1982～83・名著出版）』▽『木村礎著『地方史を生きる』（1984・日本経済評論社）』▽『横川末吉著『地方史を歩く――土佐』（1982・土佐史談会）』▽『北原進著『近世農村文書の読み方・調べ方』（1981・雄山閣出版）』▽『斎藤博著『地域社史の誕生』（1986・新評論）』

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