Histrical research of town commnity of local city in early modern japan

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 20K00934
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 03020:Japanese history-related
• Research Institution: Yokohama National University
• Principal Investigator: Tawada Masayasu 横浜国立大学, 教育学部, 教授 (10528392)
• Project Period (FY): 2020-04-01 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: 日本近世 / 地方都市 / 都市・農村関係 / 町共同体 / 身分 / 商業 / 商人

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This study focused on the small and medium-sized local cities that existed in abundance throughout the early modern period in Shinano Province (present-day Nagano Prefecture) and Sagami Province (present-day central-western Kanagawa Prefecture), and examined their historical characteristics, focusing on the town communities that were the smallest units of self-government that made up each city. Specifically, focusing on the relationship between towns and commerce/merchants, the relationship between towns and the natural environment surrounding them, the nature of town self-governance, and the uniqueness of towns within cities each of which has different regional characteristics, I conducted clarification work based on case studies such as Obuse village, Nakano village, and Wada town (all in Shinano) and Kamimizo village ( in Sagami). Then, by synthesizing the above findings, I published the results of my research on the characteristics of town communities in early modern local cities.

Free Research Field

日本近世史

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

現在の日本は、人口の首都圏への一極集中と地方の「衰退」が深刻化しており、地方都市に注目した研究が強く求められている。歴史学では「都市の時代」とも呼ばれる近世段階に注目して地方都市の歴史を論じる必要があり、その際、町共同体の性格を正面からとりあげることが重要である。日本近世の町共同体の性格は古くから盛んに論じられてきたが、江戸や京都などの巨大都市を対象としたものが大部分であり、地方都市固有の町のあり方を論じたものは蓄積に乏しい。本研究は地方固有の町と商業及び商人との関係や、町と周囲の自然環境との関わり、町の自治のあり方に注目して解明作業を進めたものであり、学術的にも社会的にも意義を持つ。