A study on the Imperial demesne in Meiji Japan: the reason why the Imperial properties which were concerned with ancient Imperial myths were released

2017 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 16H06879
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Research Field: Japanese history
• Research Institution: Kyoto University
• Principal Investigator: IKEDA Sanae 京都大学, 人文科学研究所, 助教 (10781205)
• Project Period (FY): 2016-08-26 – 2018-03-31
• Keywords: 皇室財産 / 御料地 / 伊勢・志摩御料地 / 諸県御料地 / 山林

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This Study’s Contributions 1. It has demonstrated that in debates on the establishment of Imperial land properties, goryochi, in the 1880s, only a few people recommended places such as Ise and Miyazaki as newly designated Imperial properties despite their relationship to the imperial mythology.
2.It has demonstrated that the Ise-Shima goryochi in Mie Prefecture provided the local community with agricultural and forestry products and played no role in works deeply related to the management of the Ise Shrine such as providing timber for the shikinensengu ritual, the reconstruction of the shrine that took place every twenty years. And it has also shown that the Morokata goryochi in Miyazaki Prefecture became an area for the camphor cultivation, which was then one of the major industries in Japan.
3. It has demonstrated that the Japanese government disposed of the goryochi properties in both Ise-Shima and Morokata because of huge deficits and saw no opposition against their decision.

Free Research Field

日本近代史