A historical study of the technical character of master carpenters at local castle towns and activities of their successors in Meiji period.

2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 20K04891
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 23040:Architectural history and design-related
• Research Institution: Tohoku Institute of Technology
• Principal Investigator: NAKAMURA Takumi 東北工業大学, 建築学部, 准教授 (20579932)
• Project Period (FY): 2020-04-01 – 2023-03-31
• Keywords: 近代和風建築 / 明治時代 / 地方色

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In Japan's local castle towns, master carpenters constructed many historical buildings, and their buildings have been handed down as cultural heritage of the castle towns, forming the foundation of Japan's local architectural culture. Another feature of these local masterpieces is that they are mostly concentrated in the Meiji period. In this research, I focused on the background that created the local characteristics for modern Japanese-style architecture in the Tohoku. Through fieldwork and comparative analysis of various areas in Tohoku, we have extracted perspectives such as the tradition of techniques, unique modern exchanges between regions, and local personal connections.

Free Research Field

日本建築史

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究の学術的意義として「地方色」に着目した近代和風建築である点が挙げられる。いわば日本建築史と郷土史を接続する視点である。さらに、そうした地方色豊かな建築文化が花開いた時代として明治時代に着目することで、学問分野として乖離しがちな近世史・近代史を接続する意義ももつ。さらに本研究は、全国的な建築の歴史では零れ落ちるような、地方城下町で身近に数多く現存する歴史的建造物を、どのような視角から歴史的評価を行うか、その考え方に貢献する。その意味で、現在の文化財保存活用と関わる社会的意義も有する。