Historical study of economic development in modern Okinawa, focusing on the main industrialization process of tourism

2019 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 17K13530
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Japanese history
• Research Institution: Osaka Kyoiku University
• Principal Investigator: SAKURAZAWA Makoto 大阪教育大学, 教育学部, 准教授 (90531666)
• Project Period (FY): 2017-04-01 – 2020-03-31
• Keywords: 日本史 / 沖縄 / 経済開発 / 観光業 / 相互認識 / 琉球政府 / 米国民政府 / 日本政府

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The purpose of this study was to clarify the main industrialization process of tourism in modern Okinawa. The research was divided into the "exploratory period in the 1930s and early 1940s", the "early period in the 1950s", and "the major industrialization period in the 1960s and 1970s". Then, for each period, "economic development and tourism", "actual situation of tourism", and "mutual recognition" were examined. As a result, the process of major industrialization of the tourism through the prewar and postwar periods, which was different from the "Okinawa images" theory, became clear.

Free Research Field

日本近現代史・沖縄近現代史

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

まず、社会学や観光地理学などの研究が先行するなかで、歴史学の手法に基づく実証的研究によって、沖縄観光業の主要産業化過程を明らかにした点に学術的意義があると考える。また、アジアに拡がる航路での移動や、日沖を含めた沖縄と他地域との相互認識の検討を行った点も重要である。さらには、近年、沖縄県の観光収入が軍関係受取の約2倍に達し、観光業の重要性が増しているなかで、主要産業化への歴史を実証的に把握したことは、重要な社会的意義を持つと考える。