Rewards for 'Public Interests' Contributors and the Formation of Regional Order in Modern Japan

2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 21K20051
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: 0103:History, archaeology, museology, and related fields
• Research Institution: Waseda University
• Principal Investigator: YUAN Jiaxing 早稲田大学, 文学学術院, 助手 (10905871)
• Project Period (FY): 2021-08-30 – 2023-03-31
• Keywords: 褒賞 / 名望家 / 地域社会

Outline of Final Research Achievements

As a new approach to exploring the relationship between the state and local communities, this study focuses on the state honor system for civilians, which has received limited attention thus far, and in particular on the core of this system, the Medal Ordinance. Specifically, the study aims to achieve the following objectives: (1) clarify the political processes involved in enacting and amending the Medal Ordinance, (2) understand the administrative procedures of recommendation and selection for the Medals, and (3) examine the individuals who were eligible for receiving national honors at different time periods by creating a database of pre-war medal recipients. Through this study, it becomes evident that the state honor system in modern Japan was responsive to national and social issues. Additionally, it is revealed that until the mid-Taisho period, contributions to local communities with distinct geographical boundaries served as an important criterion for nomination and selection.

Free Research Field

日本近現代史

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

学術的意義：①民間人を対象とする国家褒賞という新しい研究分野を開拓するにあたっての基礎的な作業を行った、本研究で把握した知見や作成したデータベースに基づいて、今後さらに国家褒賞と個人の名誉・社会への貢献の関係を検討したい。②日本近現代史研究の重要な課題である名望家秩序や、国家－地域社会の関係の今後の更なる発展のための、新しい視点を提供できた。
社会的意義：明治初期に作成された褒章条例は、改正はあったものの現代でも現行法令として運用されている。本研究の成果は今後の栄典制度の発展を考える上の重要な前提になっている。