The Consideration on ^|^ldquo;Jichitai-shi^|^rdquo; from the Viewpoint of Sociology

Abstract

“Jichitai-shi” are histories edited by local governments. After the Second World War, most local governments have edited their own local histories and have built up skill in this area. Nonetheless, from the 1970s onward there was criticism that citizens were absent from the local histories and that they represented only the interests of the local bureaucracy. Histories have been debating how citizen participation could be increased and how citizens could be encourage to read these local histories. This paper is a reevaluation of local histories from a sociological standpoint and describes the efforts of historians to increase citizen participation in the creation of local histories.