Purpose

The purpose of this study is to critically assess how a National Government Park in Tokyo aims to commemorate the first 50 years of the Showa era (1926–1976), a time of drastic upheaval and societal change, with a naturalistic landscape.

Design/methodology/approach

The author investigated the park by conducting a literature review, making observations in the park on multiple occasions, conducting a survey of and interviews with park users and compiling photographs.

Findings

The author found that the park nostalgically highlights the early 1950s as the essence of Showa Japan. These few years represent a lull between the two Showa-era upheavals of war and rapid development and urbanization, and symbolize a last flowering of Japan’s 2,000-year-old agrarian way of life. The nostalgic presentation of Japan’s rural essence presents, the author argues, a different nationalist narrative than the military-glorifying variant that has gained traction since the end of the Cold War.

Social implications

According to critical theorists, society and space are dialectically related and mutually constitutive. The nationalist vision of a landscape, then – including the park’s landscape – has potential to inform and help shape social beliefs and values.

Originality/value

While Japanese nationalism is a major topic among Western academics, the literature on nationalist landscapes in Japan – with the exception of “obviously” symbolic sites, such as Yasukuni Shrine – is extremely limited. This paper helps fill the gap.

中文翻译：

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日本的场所营造和田园公园规划：昭和案例

目的

本研究的目的是批判性地评估东京的国家公园如何旨在纪念昭和时代的前 50 年（1926-1976），这是一个剧烈动荡和社会变革的时代，具有自然景观。

设计/方法/方法

笔者通过文献回顾、多次到园区观察、对园区使用者进行调查和访谈、整理照片等方式对园区进行了考察。

发现

笔者发现，公园怀旧地突出了 1950 年代初期作为昭和日本的精髓。这几年是昭和两次战争剧变与快速发展和城市化之间的平静期，象征着日本拥有 2000 年历史的农业生活方式的最后一次开花。作者认为，日本乡村本质的怀旧呈现呈现出一种不同于冷战结束以来受到关注的军事荣耀变体的民族主义叙事。

社会影响

在批判理论家看来，社会和空间是辩证相关和相互构成的。民族主义的景观观——包括公园的景观——具有影响和帮助塑造社会信仰和价值观的潜力。

原创性/价值

虽然日本民族主义是西方学术界的一个主要话题，但关于日本民族主义景观的文献——除了靖国神社等“明显”的象征性遗址之外——极为有限。这篇论文有助于填补空白。