2025 (Nos. 1057-1069)

Summary

The Paleolithic Hoax and the Paleolithic Archaeology in its Aftermath: Once Bitten, Twice Shy

SATO Hiroyuki

A Paleolithic hoax which was exposed in 2000 had a grave impact not only on archaeology, but also on society, politics, the administration of buried cultural artifacts, university education, and history education in Japan. The hoax perpetrated by Fujimura Shinichi went undiscovered for nearly 30 years. Consequently, materials from all 113 sites in which he was involved were declared to have no academic value.
The credibility of Paleolithic archaeology as an academic discipline can only be restored by reconstructing the credibility lost by Paleolithic research. The recent discovery of a cultural layer from the early Upper Paleolithic at the Kosakayama site in Nagano Prefecture provides the first clear evidence of human migration directly from the mainland to the Japanese archipelago. However, this site has not been given its due assessment because many Japanese Paleolithic archaeologists deny the existence of the Early and Middle Paleolithic altogether because of the legacy of the Fujimura hoaxes. This represents a significant case of the deleterious after-effects of falsification in scholarship.

"The Course of ‘Real Tombs’:Conflicts Over the Determination of Imperial Tombs in Modern Japan"

UEDA Hisao

From around the 18th to late 19 centuries in Japan, there was a movement to examine and determine the locations of imperial tombs since ancient times. Scholars involved in this study often conflicted with each other, seeking to have their findings reflected in the official decisions of the Imperial Court and the Meiji government. Consequently, some determined locations were overturned and revised. However, with the introduction of the constitutional system, the Meiji government officially settled the location of all imperial tombs in 1889. This decision was based on studies conducted by  Tanimori Yoshiomi study and his students and which contained several errors. Masuda Yukinobu, who worked for the Ministry of the Imperial Household during the Taisho period（1912‐1926） , reexamined the locations of the imperial tombs and highlighted errors in Tanimori and others' studies and evaluations. However, the locations of the imperial tombs could no longer be changed after 1889, owing to a final decision authorized by Emperor Meiji. Therefore, incorrect evaluations of the locations of imperial tombs remain unchanged to this day.

True and False of the Pre-Qin Period:Historical Narratives of the Pre-Qin Period as Observed in “Xinian” and Other Qinghua Bamboo-Slips

KOTERA Atsushi

The differences in historical narratives between various texts are often controversial. In this study, the words "true" and "false" represent the validity of historical narratives. The analysis focuses on the situation and background of "true" and "false" within historical materials depicting the pre-Qin period by examining mutually inconsistent and contradictory articles in both excavated and transmitted texts, such as the Qinghua bamboo-slips, including the "Xinian." These historical narratives were used in diplomacy against the background of state power, allowing a range of permissibility. Within that range, the "true" and "false" were in constant conflict and remained unsettled. Thus, "true" and "false" are subjective and relative concepts connected to the legitimacy of state power. The transmitted texts that are "true" are merely those that survived the conflict to the present day. However, excavated texts, because they were created against the same background of conflicting interests, share the same historical limitations as the transmitted texts. Thus, paradoxically, the conflict between "true" and "false" in either kind of sources can provide insights into the status of state power during the pre-Qin period which lay behind the creation of both of these historical materials.

Fact and Fabrication in Identity and Loyalty: The Transformation of the Karakeçili Tribe in the Modern Ottoman Empire

IWAMOTO Keiko

Urfa, in southeastern Turkey, has long been an important urban center in the historical region of Syria. Although official statistics are not available, Urfa and its surroundings are known to be home to many Kurds and Arabs. The Karakeçili tribe, descendants of a nomadic group, also resides in the area. In modern Turkey, however, the Karakeçili are recognized as a historical Turkish tribe loyal to the Ottoman dynasty.

This paper examines how, during the late Ottoman period under Sultan Abdulhamid II, the government and the Karakeçili tribe used the mausoleum of Ertuğrul, the father of the Ottoman dynasty’s founder, to promote narratives of loyalty and Ottoman identity.

Although the Karakeçili tribe in Urfa is located approximately 800 kilometers from the mausoleum, they embraced these narratives to pursue their interests, such as petitioning for reduced sentences by emphasizing their supposed allegiance to the Ottoman dynasty. This mutual use of historical narratives created a symbiotic relationship that advanced both the government’s and the tribe’s aims. The legacy of these interactions endures today, supporting nationalist narratives that claim Kurds were originally Turks. This case demonstrates how identity and allegiance were strategically shaped by both the state and the tribe.

Summary

Regional Organizations of the Shin Sect Temples in the Kaga Domain: Administrative Temples and Temple Associations

UENO Daisuke

This study illustrates the regional organizations of the Shin sect temples in the Kaga domain, providing insights into the relationship between politics and religion in early modern Japan.
In the Kaga domain, during the Keichō period, Kanazawa Gobō of the Higashi Honganji school, four Noto temples, and the Shōkōji Temple played the role of de facto administrative temples. During the Kan'ei period, the Shōenji Temple—connected to Kanazawa Gobō of the Nishi Honganji school—was given an administrative role by the Kaga domain. During the same period, rudimentary forms of temple associations were established in various areas of the domain.
Subsequently, in 1648, the Kaga domain's temple and shrine commissioners were established, and the administrative temples in Kaga, Noto, and Etchū were adjusted through negotiations with Higashi Honganji and Nishi Honganji. Despite some conflict, the order was finalized. Additionally, temple associations became identifiable by the mid-17th century in these provinces, and they performed functions such as communication, making decisions, providing mutual guarantees, and maintaining order.
The administrative temples and the temple associations of the Shin sect temples in the Kaga domain were instituted, albeit not whole area, by the Kan'ei period, and became firmly established in the mid-17th century.

The Revival of Superstition in the Meiji Period: as Seen from the Lecture Tours of "Yokai Hakase"

TABEI Hayato

This study aims to examine how both intellectuals and the general public received Enryō Inoue's yokaiology, which appeared in the mid-Meiji period. Previous studies have positioned Enryō's yokaiology as a discourse on the denial of yokai since the early Meiji period, and have evaluated its enlightening practicality for the public. However, what this study focuses on is that yokaiology, with its original primary focus on the elimination of superstition, was interpreted in various ways under the title of “Yokai Hakase”. In this light, the authoritative nature of the word “Hakase” in modern society, along with the popular nature of the word “yokai,” was found to have a strong influence on people's perception of the word. In conclusion, the academic nature of yokaiology, such as “Hakase” and “study,” played a role in giving new value as an object of study to yokai and ghosts, which had been the subject of denial and exclusion since the early Meiji period.

Senatorial Meetings during the Early Roman Empire: A Case Study of the Relationship between Emperors and the Senate during the Reigns of Claudius and Nero

HEMMI Yuta

Historical sources on Claudius reveal that while the Senate was highly active in legislation, the senators generally approved the emperor’s proposals without any substantive discussion.
However, during the reign of Claudius, there was a case that contradicted the image of senators simply obeying the emperor: a meeting in AD 48. At this meeting, Claudius proposed that the notables of Gallia Comata be admitted to the Senate. Due to opposition from the senators, the proposal was only partially approved, and this situation persisted until Claudius’s death. Furthermore, the senators’ opposition to Claudius’s proposal to protect their vested interests may have influenced senatorial meetings during the reign of Nero.
Considering these points, we conclude that the degree of freedom granted to senators in making and expressing their decisions was ultimately at the discretion of the emperors. In this sense, the emperors had a significant influence on senatorial meetings, but it would have been difficult for them to make the Senate pass the senatus consulta completely ignoring the wishes of its members.