Benesch, Oleg orcid.org/0000-0002-6294-8724 (2018) Castles and the Militarisation of Urban Society in Imperial Japan. Transactions of the Royal Historical Society. pp. 107-134. ISSN 0080-4401
Abstract
Castles are some of Japan’s most iconic structures and popular tourist destinations. They are prominent symbols of local, regional and national identity recognised both at home and abroad. Castles occupy large areas of land at the centre of most Japanese cities, shaping the urban space. Many castles have their roots in the period of civil war that ended in the early seventeenth century, and now house museums, parks and reconstructions of historic buildings. The current heritage status of Japan’s castles obscures their troubled modern history. During the imperial period (1868–1945), the vast majority of pre-modern castles were abandoned, dismantled or destroyed before being rediscovered and reinvented as physical links to an idealised martial past. Japan’s most important castles were converted to host military garrisons that dominated city centres and caused conflict with civilian groups. Various interests competed for control and access, and castles became sites of convergence between civilian and military agendas in the 1920s and 1930s. This paper argues that castles contributed both symbolically and physically to the militarisation of Japanese society in the imperial period. The study of these unique urban spaces provides new approaches to understanding militarism, continuity and change in modern Japan.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | This is a manuscript accepted for publication in Transactions of the Royal Historical Society, that will appear in revised and final form in the volume. The final place of publication is https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/transactions-of-the-royal-historical-society This manuscript may only be used for personal research and not further distributed. |
Keywords: | Japan,Castle,Nationalism,Militarism,Osaka,Nagoya,Tokyo,Samurai,Urban History,Meiji Japan,Taisho,Showa |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of York |
Academic Units: | The University of York > Faculty of Arts and Humanities (York) > History (York) |
Depositing User: | Pure (York) |
Date Deposited: | 16 Jul 2018 08:30 |
Last Modified: | 08 Feb 2025 00:30 |
Published Version: | https://doi.org/10.1017/S0080440118000063 |
Status: | Published |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1017/S0080440118000063 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:133333 |
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Description: Benesch Castles and the Militarisation of Urban Society in Imperial Japan TRHS Accepted Manuscript