Historical Research on Independence of War Disabled Veterans in the Postwar Japan

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 20H01308
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 03020:Japanese history-related
• Research Institution: University of Fukui
• Principal Investigator: Fujiwara Tetsuya 福井大学, 学術研究院医学系部門, 教授 (30362338)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 山下 麻衣 同志社大学, 商学部, 教授 (90387994) ; 今城 徹 (今城徹) 阪南大学, 経済学部, 准教授 (20453988)
• Project Period (FY): 2020-04-01 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: 戦傷病者 / 日本近現代史 / 障害史 / 戦争 / 自立 / 傷痍軍人

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The research aiming to elucidate the independence of war disabled veterans in postwar Japan, has achieved the following three results. First, in examining the memoirs of disabled war veterans and their families, we found that the content of their narratives differed depending on whether they had experienced combat or not, and while most of them talked about their experiences of war-related injuries and illnesses, their wives tended to talk about the difficulties they faced in their lives toward independence. Second, interviews with the family members confirmed the fact that the disabled husbands sought not only economic independence but also spiritual independence from Japanese society. Third, an analysis of consultations conducted during the postwar period with the general disabled population revealed that in addition to their war injuries and illnesses, their health problems due to aging had become another challenge to their independence.

Free Research Field

障害史

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究の学術的意義は、戦後期に焦点を当てて戦傷病者の自立の問題を多面的に扱った点にある。これまでの日本の戦傷病者に関する歴史研究では、アジア太平洋戦争の戦前・戦中期を扱った研究が多いが、戦後期における彼らに関する分析は不十分であった。このため、彼らの戦後期における生活実態の把握に努めながら、彼らがどのように自立しようとしたのかを観察した。また、本研究の社会的意義に関して、戦後80年近くが経過し、彼らの存在自体が歴史のなかで忘却されようとしている状況の中で、彼らが自立を目指して生活したことを戦後史のなかで位置付けようとした点が挙げられる。