抄録
In the decade before World War II there was a plan to turn the site of Odawara castle into a prefectural park. This study clarifies the background and progress of the plan, focusing on the expectations and aims of the town of Odawara, and the consciousness and initiatives of Kanagawa Prefecture, toward the prefectural park idea. Odawara requested that the Imperial Household Department, which had jurisdiction over the site, sell it off. In addition to repeated requests that the site be sold, Odawara negotiated with Kanagawa Prefecture on turning a portion of it into a prefectural park. Odawara hoped that the prefecture would undertake the task of building the park. In 1938 the central portion was transferred to Kanagawa Prefecture, and Odawara expressed a strong wish that it be made a prefectural park. The prefecture was studying the possibility of building a prefectural park and selected the Odawara castle site as one of seven candidate locations. Beginning in fiscal 1938 on-site surveys were carried out using funding budgeted for a survey of possible prefectural park locations, and park plans were drawn up. The department responsible for parks hoped that funds would be budgeted for the building of prefectural parks, but the financial affairs department rejected the request. The prefecture dispersed partial funding to the candidate sites, but no prefectural parks were officially buil.
