History compilation and family tree of early modern Japan

2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 17K03100
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Japanese history
• Research Institution: Shinshu University
• Principal Investigator: YAMAMOTO EIJI 信州大学, 学術研究院人文科学系, 教授 (20262678)
• Project Period (FY): 2017-04-01 – 2023-03-31
• Keywords: 近世 / 偽文書 / 由緒書 / 家系図

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The purpose of this study is to investigate the historical perceptions of the Edo period. The materials used in this study are fake documents and family trees. The subject of the study is the Toda family of Matsumoto Han (feudal domain) in Shinano Province. Matsumoto Han has produced several biographies and family trees of successive heads of the clan.Among them, the family tree created at the beginning of the 19th century is the most important one for the Toda family. The reason for this is that it was necessary for the Toda family to boast of its traditions and family status. In this study, I conducted historical research throughout Japan and collected a large amount of data on family trees.The greatest advantage of this research is that it allows us to analyze in detail family trees that have rarely been studied before.

Free Research Field

日本近世史

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究の成果の学術的な意義は、従来からの古文書学的な考察に加えて、史料群そのものが有する情報を、アーカイブズ学の方法論を援用して、より具体的に明らかにすることができたことにある。書かれた文字情報の分析だけでなく、家系図や偽文書が作成される動機や背景、作成者の意識にまで踏み込んで分析することに学術的な意義がある。こうした研究成果は、現代の日本社会に共有されている歴史意識について、新たな歴史像を提供することで、新たな歴史認識をもたらす社会的な意義があると考えられる。