An Ethnographic Study on the Birth and Demise of Local Urban Shopping Streets:1920-2020

2021 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 16K16961
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Cultural anthropology
• Research Institution: The University of Tokyo (2021); Ibaraki University (2016-2020)
• Principal Investigator: TSUKAHARA Shinji 東京大学, 大学院総合文化研究科, 准教授 (30735569)
• Project Period (FY): 2016-04-01 – 2022-03-31
• Keywords: 商店街 / 地方都市 / 近現代史 / 民俗誌 / 福岡県 / 千葉県

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Through case studies of specific local city shopping malls, this study depicts the birth and development of shopping malls over the span of 100 years to the present day, when they are coming to an end. In particular, the following three points were clarified. (1) Shopping streets were established by various coincidences while inheriting the past. (2) The process by which shopping arcades developed in the latter half of the 20th century was not necessarily a long-term stable one, but rather a link in a more unstable situation than expected. (3) The path that led to the decline and demise of the shopping district was the result of long-term changes over a period of about 40 years, and reflected social relations among shopkeepers and conflicts over the succession of family businesses.

Free Research Field

民俗学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

商店街という対象には近年急激に関心が向けられつつあるが、成果の中心は政策や制度の運用についての関心にもとづく歴史学的研究であり、現地調査による現状把握の研究は乏しかった。また、そのような研究方法に起因して、個々の商店主がどのような関係の中でどのように生きているのかという点にまで迫った研究は行われていなかった。それに対して本研究では、歴史学的手法と民俗誌を組み合わせることで、学際的な商店街研究に新しい視点をもたらすことができた。