銃後における民衆動員の実態 - 『寺門治平日記』を中心に -

Abstract

This paper explored how the general public supported outgoing soldiers, fallen soldiers and their bereaved families on the home front during the all-out war period, based on the “Diary of Chihei Terakado.” It was aimed at looking into the actual situation of public mobilization by focusing on the three types of ceremonies-praying for good luck, seeing-off outgoing soldiers, and picking up remains and village funerals–comparing the changes in the home front support during the Sino-Japanese War and the Pacific War. In Nukata Village, public mobilization took two forms: praying for good luck and worshiping at a shrine. The former was primarily led by the family and the village itself while the latter was joined by neighbors of the outgoing soldiers. This suggests that public mobilization was more active for worshiping at a shrine, according to the diary. The ceremony to see soldiers off was held in such a grand way that their family members and villagers gathered at the town hall to give them three cheers, and then villagers escorted soldiers to the final departure point to see them leave. According to the diary, the remains of fallen soldiers were picked up at Nukata Station, where villagers saw off soldiers, and it was typical that villagers participated in a home funeral in the morning and a village funeral in the afternoon. It was also found that as the number of casualties increased more than during the Sino-Japanese War, elementary schools served as an important venue for the home front support during the Pacific War.