Abstract
Broadcasting in Japan will mark the centennial anniversary of its first broadcast in 2025, seven years from now. The purpose of the paper is to analyze the depiction and editing of each book of Hososhi [History of Broadcasting, a series of chronicles of Japanese broadcasting published by NHK (hereinafter “Chronicle”) and to find clues to how to summarize and depict the 100 years of broadcasting.The paper focuses on four Chronicles, in which the history of broadcasting in Japan is comprehensively summarized by NHK. 1) Hososhi [The History of Broadcasting] (1951), commonly known as “25-Year History” 2) Nippon hososhi [The History of Broadcasting in Japan] (1964), commonly known as “35-Year History” 3) Hoso gojunen shi [Fifteen Years of Broardcating] (1977) 4) Nijusseiki hososhi [The History of Broadcasting in Japan in the 20th Century] (2001)One of the distinct characteristics of the Chronicles is the fact that each book covers the complete history of Japanese broadcasting, not just adding new chapters, but featuring and re-editing the whole historical events up to the publication.This indicates that each book has different perspectives with different perception of broadcasting, different priorities in organizing and analyzing a great number of events, and different stance for the depictions of whole history. The paper looks into the above aspects as the “historical perspectives” of each Chronicle. The author explores the transition of how different perspectives of each Chronicle influenced specific depictions of the historical events.With this approach, the author aims to present the significance of the perspectives in compiling Chronicles to offer clues to how to examine the 100 years of history of broadcasting.
