This study of the selection of the first National Parks in Japan in the 1930s discusses (1) the types of landscapes selected, and (2) their backgrounds, meaning their planning philosophy, the process by which they were selected, and so on. A document analysis was conducted with the selection processes that reflected Tsuyoshi Tamura’s planning philosophy and landscape evaluation process. This analysis indicates that Tamura attempted a rational selection process by evaluating national park candidates based on his knowledge of modern landscape architecture. However, selected national parks were not only those that satisfied the criteria presented by Tamura, but also other selected featured designs that did not align with his planning philosophy, and some that were said to be “vast area of land with primeval natural landscape, which represents the Japanese landscape.” The influence of another criterion has been discovered. This criterion values symbolic national historical objects regarded as the invention of tradition. The selection of national parks is thus discussed in this study as a product of the modern era.