2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report
The 150th Anniversary of the Meiji Restoration in Contemporary Japanese Politics
| Project/Area Number |
18K01422
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Multi-year Fund |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Review Section |
Basic Section 06010:Politics-related
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| Research Institution | Waseda University |
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Principal Investigator |
LEHENY DAVID 早稲田大学, 国際学術院(アジア太平洋研究科), 教授 (80817479)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2018-04-01 – 2023-03-31
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| Keywords | Politics / Commemoration / Meiji / Japan / Narrative / International Relations / Nation / Spectacle |
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| Outline of Final Research Achievements |
This project was initially designed to consider how the Meiji Restoration was understood, remembered, and commemorated in Japanese politics, using the occasion of the 150th anniversary of 1868 as a launching point. Indeed, at the beginning of 2018, then-Prime Minister Abe signaled his interest in making the commemoration a focal point of government action. But national engagement remained limited, focusing mostly on support for local events and campaigns, with only a minimal ceremony held in October. Because of the limits of national commemoration, this project shifted toward an investigation of history, spectacle, and commemoration in Japanese politics.
I published some of the research in the leading English-language journals of Asian and Japanese studies (The Journal of Asian Studies and the Journal of Japanese Studies), with several other papers becoming chapters in edited volumes in top academic presses. Together, they capture new findings and point in new theoretical directions.
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| Free Research Field |
Political Science
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| Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements |
The project re-examined the meaning and representation of the Meiji Restoration, drawing current debates about it in Japan into global theories of commemoration and narrative. By considering ongoing projects of historical narrative in Japan, it further contributed to debates on memory and politics.
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