著者

荒川 章二

出版者

国立歴史民俗博物館

雑誌

国立歴史民俗博物館研究報告 (ISSN:02867400)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.147, pp.35-63, 2008-12

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本研究は、日清戦争期・日露戦争期を通じて、地域ぐるみの戦死者公葬がいかに形成されていくのかを主題としている。地域ぐるみの戦死者葬儀の性格をどうとらえるかは、まだ通説が形成されておらず、「公葬」の定義に関しても論者毎に区々である。この様な研究の現状に対し、本研究では、両戦争期の個別の葬儀事例をいくつか検討し、葬儀執行に関わる地方団体の規程の成立、葬儀の主要な参加者(知事、郡長、市町村長、議員、学校長など)、葬儀費用の徴収法、弔慰料贈与規程の設定、葬儀執行の会場(小学校校庭など)などに注目し、戦死者葬儀が、両戦争期にどのように公的な性格を獲得していくかを跡づけた。後の日中戦争期と異なり、この時期の戦死者に対する地域ぐるみの葬儀に対しては、公費支出は許可されなかったが、葬儀費用も準公費として徴収されており、執行の内実も公葬として位置づけられるという点が、本稿の主張である。さらに何よりも、主催者、あるいは葬儀の記録者自身が、「村葬」などと称し、公葬として自己認識していた。本研究では同時に、葬儀執行の前提となる、戦死者の遺体の処理、遺骨・遺髪の受領とその際の駅頭などでの出迎え、遺族に対する戦死の通報のパターンと通報文の内容、葬儀の際の弔辞の文面などにも注目した。両戦争期のこの時期に、「名誉の戦死」「英霊」「軍人の本分」などの国家的・軍人的価値意識が、どのような経路と舞台装置を介して地域に浸透していったのか、メディアとしての戦死者公葬の意義を明らかにするためである。葬儀は何れも数百人から二〇〇〇人にも及ぶ地域未曾有の葬儀参加者を集めて執行され、特に次代を担う小学校児童の参加が重視された。国民の戦争・軍事認識形成に果たした戦死者葬儀の役割を、より多面的に解明していく必要があると思われる。This is a study of the creation of a tradition of regional public war dead memorialization in Meiji Japan in the period spanning the Sino-Japanese and Russo-Japanese Wars. There is little consensus among researchers as to the characteristics of regional public war dead memorialization, nor is there a definition of "public war dead memorialization" agreed upon by most researchers.In light of the current state of scholarship regarding this topic, this study examines: several cases of public war dead memorialization during the period of the two wars; the formation of regional associations to carry out these memorial ceremonies; the types of individuals who participated in the ceremonies (e.g., prefectural governors, mayors, elected legislators, school principals, etc.); the collection of funding for the ceremonies; the establishment of guidelines for the offering of condolence money (to survivors, etc.); and venues for memorial ceremonies. It also traces the process by which this type of ceremony took on an increasingly official character during the period of these wars. Unlike the practice that began with the later Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945), these regional ceremonies were not initially supported by official public funds. Nevertheless, this study maintains that funds for the memorial services were collected in a semi-official manner, and that the services were for all intents and purposes official public events. The use of terms such as "village funeral" by organizers and others recording accounts of the services at the time confirms that the participants themselves recognized them as official public events.This study also examines other practices related to these funeral services, such as: processing of the mortal remains of war dead; the receiving of cremated ashes or ihatsu (locks of hair of the deceased) and the associated "welcome receptions" for same at hometown train stations; protocols for the reporting of war deaths and the text typically used in these reports; and written eulogies. One goal of this research is to shed light on the significance of public war memorialization ceremonies as media events, as well as to examine them as channels and "stage management" of the regional dissemination of nationalistic and militaristic values as evidenced by the use of terms such as "honorable combat death", "heroic war dead", and "soldierly duty" during the period of the two wars. Public war dead memorialization ceremonies inevitably involved processions of hundreds and sometimes as many as two thousand participants ― mourner numbers unprecedented for funeral services in regional venues. Particular emphasis was placed on participation in these ceremonies by elementary school students who would become the next generation of soldiers. Such a multifaceted research approach is desirable for examining the role played by war memorialization ceremonies in the formation of ideas about war and the military in Japanese popular consciousness.