A Criticism to Regional History Books and School Text Books on the Legend of Movement against Railway Construction during Meiji Era

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Other Title
  • 地方史誌と学校教育における鉄道忌避伝説
  • チホウシシ ト ガッコウ キョウイク ニ オケル テツドウ キヒ デンセツ

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Description

The author once published two reports of criticism, in 1982 and 2001, on the legend of movement against railway construction during Meiji Era, spreading all over Japan. On many books of regional history, both in academic or journalistic works, they have introduced the legend that there were many movements against railway, for the infringement to right vested in feudal system, or simple ignorance to newly coming technologies. Strange enough, they did not show any document providing the movement. The author pointed that the legend was fiction created by posterity. His paper was agreed and supported by many articles of railway historians and geographers.<br>In this paper, the author shows some examples of regional history books and school text-books, mainly in the case of the Kobu Railway in Tokyo Metropolitan Area. The railway has had legend that it was constructed in spite of strong opposition by some post-town, along main roads. And he shows how they described the legend, and how they changed their description, with the passage of time. Prior to the 1980s, they had described the legend without any document and had also added “new” legend one after another. After the 1990s, however, many regional history books have changed their style of description, telling the legend apart from the historical truth. It corresponds to the development of regional railway history and geography studies. As for school text-books, correspondence to the change of description in regional history books is progressing, but is slow to some extent.

Journal

  • THE NEW GEOGRAPHY

    THE NEW GEOGRAPHY 54 (1), 1-17, 2006

    The Geographic Education Society of Japan

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