JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctExtraNovDec

March 2025 No.1059

Special Issue: Reading IWANAMI KOZA SEKAI REKISHI (The Iwanami Lectures on World History)
Prefacethe Editorial Board(1)
The Editing Process Behind the IWANAMI KOZA SEKAI REKISHIYOSHIZAWA Seiichiro(2)
The Sinosphere and Narrating World HistoryTSURUMA Kazuyuki(8)
Compilation of IWANAMI KOZA SEKAI REKISHI and the History of the Mongolian Empire and Yuan DynastySAKURAI Satomi(14)
How is ‘Japan’ Located in World History?KOKAZE Hidemasa(21)
On Locality and Internationality: a View from South East Asian HistoryOKADA Taihei(29)
Focusing on Social History and Gender Perspective: From the Viewpoint of Modern and Contemporary German HistoryKITAMURA Yoko(35)
Sixty Years and Three Periods of IWANAMI KOZA SEKAI REKISHISASAKI Makoto(41)
Notes and Suggestions
The Studies on History of State Formation of Archaeology and HistoriographySEKINE Atsushi(51)
Home and Abroad
The International Federation for Research in Women’s History (IFRWH) 2024 Conference in Tokyo ReportKITADA Eri(60)

Summary

The Studies on History of State Formation of Archaeology and Historiography

SEKINE Atsushi

The early state theory has had a major influence on recent studies of the history of state formation in Japan. This theory criticizes the Engelsian theory, which takes the overthrow of the clan system as an indicator of state formation in Japan, and has gained wide acceptance in archaeology. On the other hand, Engels' theory is still the mainstay of historical studies on the history of state formation, where the process of establishment of ideology is not highly evaluated. However, Engels' theory has several flaws, and the perspective of ideology formation in state theory is important from the perspective of contemporary history.

External factors, such as wars and diplomacy, have a significant impact on the development of society. The formation of the ancient Japanese state should be considered not in terms of class conflict, but in terms of external relations as the main factor, with ideology and political structure (taxation, military system, bureaucracy) as indicators. In this process, it will be a challenge to elucidate the relationship between “Teiki”(Chronicles), “Kyuji”(Old Stories), and keyhole-shaped tumuli. I hope that this paper will be an opportunity for the study of the history of state formation to flourish in both archaeology and history.

TOP↑

February 2025 No.1058

Series: Writing History (5) Writing Introductory History Books
“Doing” History with Pocket BooksSATO Yuki(1)
On Writing an Introductory Book about Territorial Issues with a Neighboring CountryIKEUCHI Satoshi(6)
Writing a Comprehensive History of ChinaWATANABE Shinichiro(9)
What Does an Introductory Book Tell and to Whom?MATSUSHITA Kenichi(14)
What was the Ming Dynasty, and What is a Comprehensive History?OKAMOTO Takashi(18)
In and Around REKISHIGAKU KENKYU: The Reasons Behind Why I Wrote Introduction to European HistoryOTSUKI Yasuhiro(22)
What Do Readers Expect from Introductory Books on Economic History?ONOZUKA Tomoji(28)
Writing History in a Pocket BookKIDO Yoshiyuki(33)
Why Writing History for the General Public is DifficultTANO Daisuke
ONODERA Takuya
(37)
A Pocket Book Aimed at Promoting Gender HistoryHIMEOKA Toshiko(42)
Roundtable Discussion
Creating Introductory History Books: How to Reach Out to a More Diverse ReadershipOKAZAKI Mayuko
SUGITA Moriyasu
MATSUDA Ken
OTSUKA Shotaro
ODAWARA Rin
KATO Yoko
SATO Yuki
SASAKI Makoto
(47)
Recent Publications
(65)

No.1057 January 2025

Special Issue: Memories of War in History III
The Transformation of Economic Cooperation Policy in the 1970s and National Memories Surrounding ‘the Heart of Nations’ASANO
Toyomi
(1)
The Pacific War from the Perspective of Solomon Islanders: Characteristics and Multilayers of Memories of the War in Historical and Ethnographical SourcesFUJII
Shinichi
(16)
Articles
The “Creation of National Forests” and Forest Research Projects in Colonial Korea: Focusing on Type I, Unnecessary ForestsHAN
Rihye
(27)
Decolonization of History Teaching in EnglandYODA
Jun
(44)
Book Reviews (Unless otherwise noted, the works are written in Japanese)
KIHIRA Eisaku, American History of Abolition of SlaveryKIDO
Yoshiyuki
(60)

Summary

The Transformation of Economic Cooperation Policy in the 1970s and National Memories Surrounding ‘the Heart of Nations’

ASANO Toyomi

This paper is an empirical study of the dynamics of the development of an international economic cooperation program in Japan around 1970. It reveals the historical structure that gave rise to the disagreement over historical issues between Japan on the one hand, and China and Korea on the other. In order to “connect the heart of the Japanese people with the hearts of the people of Asia,” the attempt to expand economic cooperation programs, which was initiated by the LDP, could be regarded as an attempt to expand the national consensus built across the divide between rural and urban society in Japan into the diplomatic field by proposing Japan as a model for Asia, together with the three non-nuclear principles. The LDP even planned to have representatives from labor unions in the national board of Economic Cooperation Council in order to restore the bonds of the heart by exerting control over the activities of multinational corporations. However, despite the fact that the Prime Minister's Office and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had agreed to this plan, it was not realized, and the plan to establish an Economic Cooperation Agency that would span multiple ministries also failed. The failure of this plan can be said to have been the cause of the emergence of historical issues after the relaxation of totalitarian control in China and Korea. Historical issues become driving forces for democratization by linking values of human rights to national memory in a society where the “wealth” as the universal value in 1970s Asia had suppressed people’s hearts through economic development.

The Pacific War from the Perspective of Solomon Islanders: Characteristics and Multilayers of Memories of the War in Historical and Ethnographical Sources

FUJII Shinichi

This paper analyses Solomon Islanders' memories of the Pacific War. How has the memory of the war been recalled in the Solomon Islands? How has the memory of the war acted on the construction of the ‘national history’ of the Solomon Islands? How do the relics of the war evoke memories in the Solomon Islands today?

The experiences of those involved in the war as scouts, coastwatchers and the Solomon Islands Labour Coup have been told in public and documented by historians and anthropologists. These stories have shaped a common memory of the Pacific War as ‘a war brought by outsiders’. At the same time, memories such as those of the evacuation experienced by many Solomon Islanders have been discarded from the national history.

 Today, relics of the Pacific War are also an important medium of public memory of the war in the Solomon Islands. They evoke both positive images and negative emotions. On the one hand, they are materials which bring economic benefits as tourism resources. On the other hand, such things as unexploded ordnance are still causing harm to people 80 years after the war.

The “Creation of National Forests” and Forest Research Projects in Colonial Korea:Focusing on Type I, Unnecessary Forests

HAN Rihye

This paper examines how claims toward "Type 1 unnecessary forests" were treated in the forest survey project in colonial Korea, seeking to clarify the problems arising from the forest survey project. "Type 1 unnecessary forests" were forests that were mainly subject to afforestation loans. If a claim of affiliation was declared concerning "Type 1 unnecessary" forests during the forest survey project, the option remained to treat it as a disputed area, but there was also the possibility for authorities to revoke the declarations for such claims.

This paper focuses on the "Type 1 unnecessary forests" in Kilju-gun, North Hamgyŏng Province. This area covers about 4,000 hectares, which were used for slash-and-burn farming, construction of burial mounds, collection of brushwood, and general cultivation. During the forest survey, many claims were made, but at times rendered void by the authorities. Analyzing these revoked cases, it becomes clear that there were cases where measures were taken to prioritize future afforestation loan dispositions. Thus it is important to analyze the forest survey project, starting from the national forests, while considering the injustice of the Government-General of Korea's investigations. 

Decolonization of History Teaching in England

YODA Jun

The aim of this paper is to analise the changes of the images of the British Empire in the history textbooks in England from the end of the WWI to the present day.

After the WWI, the British Empire, once seen as the symbol of valour and adventurous spirit of the British, began to stress its humanitarian nature. It was depicted as the benevolent guardian helping its colonies to civilise and teaching how to rule themselves. Even in the 1960s, imperial history was the staple part of the British history in the textbooks. It was regarded as the success story, as the Empire spread the parliamentary democracy and established the notion of ‘liberty’ around the world. In the 1970s, however, imperial history suddenly lost its appeal and gave way to the ‘New History’. Even though the history of empire was forgotten, the mentality to endorse and justify the colonialism has remained among the British.

Since the 2000s, imperial history has become taken up in schools again to understand the origins of the present multi-cultural society. This new imperial history, open to the multiple interpretations under the influence of the ‘New History’, has the possibility to change their imperial mindset.