1940年上海土地記録引き渡し問題をめぐる日本と欧米諸国 ―イギリス側史料の紹介を中心に―

pdf

20世紀の戦争や植民地支配がアジアのアーカイブズ状況にどのような影響を及ぼしたかという問題は、アーカイブズ学上の、また歴史学上の重要なテーマである。本稿は、1937年11月11日に日本軍が上海を占領し上海市政府が撤退した際、同政府土地局が国際共同租界工部局に土地記録312箱を預託した事実をとりあげ、この土地記録の返還をめぐって日本（ならびに日本の影響下で作られた上海特別市政府）と欧米諸国、とりわけ英米両国との間に繰り広げられた確執の経緯を、イギリス側史料を中心に紹介する。 この事件は、表向きは上海特別市政府が共同租界工部局参事会に対して土地記録の引き渡しを求め、最終的に工部局参事会がこれに応じて土地記録を引き渡した、という単純な出来事に過ぎない。しかし土地記録は、土地取引や財産権の確認など、土地行政全般に欠かせないという意味で行政記録としての一般的重要性を持っていたばかりでなく、当時の上海においては、「土地権利証書発行権に付随する名声と権威」の源とも認識されていた。その意味で、誰が土地記録を所管するかは極めて政治的な問題でもあった。そのため、土地記録の引き渡し問題をめぐっては、上海特別市（王精衛政権側）の背後にいる日本と、重慶の国民政府を支援する英米両国を中心とする欧米諸国との確執が、工部局参事会や上海領事団、とりわけ後者を舞台に二年あまりに渡って複雑に繰り広げられた。本稿は、そ の経緯を、あくまで「アーカイブズ史」の観点から紹介しようというものである。 Influence of wars and colonial occupations in the 20th century on the condition of Asian archives is an important issue of archival and historical studies. The present essay focuses on the fact that the Land Office of the Shanghai Municipal Government deposited 312 boxes of land archives to the Shanghai Municipal Council of the International Settlement when the Shanghai Municipal Government with drew from the city immediately before the Japanese occupation, and discusses how Japan and the Western countries, especially Britain and the United States, conflicted with each other in respect of returning the land archives to the newly established Municipality of Greater Shanghai Government, a puppet organization under the Japanese control, introducing the archival sources mainly in the United Kingdom. The story was simple on the face of it: the Municipality of Greater Shanghai Government demanded the Shanghai Municipal Council of the International Settlement to hand over the land records which had been deposited by the former Municipal Government and the Council finally agreed to transfer them. However, the land records was more than land records in Shanghai at that time, because they were not only of general importance as part of public records indispensable for land administration such as transaction of land trades and confirmation of ownership of lands but also recognized in Shanghai at that time as the origin of ''reputation and authority attached to the right of issuing land deeds''. Thus, who controls the land records was, in a sense, very political issue. This seems to be a reason why Japan behind the Municipality of Greater Shanghai Government (and the Nanking Government) continued for more than two years to connect with Britain, the USA and some other Western countries which supported the Chinese National Government in Chungking regarding the Shanghai land archives. The main stages of the story were the Shanghai Municipal Council and the Shanghai Consuls Body, especially the latter. The present essay intends to introduce the outline of the story from a point of view of ''archival history''.