Historical research on the development and disappearance of Muroran park: A sociocultural perspective

Abstract

This study examined the historical significance of Muroran Park in Hokkaido, Japan, from a sociocultural perspective, based on related literature. The study focused on the following five aspects: (1) effect of urban areas, terrain, and park ideas on park establishment; (2) background to getting permission for free loan of the park site; (3) features of Seiroku Honda’s Muroran Park Plan and comparison with Kushiro Park; (4) efforts of the Muroran municipal administration and citizens to improve the park up until World War II; and (5) the desolation and disappearance of the park during and after the war. The factors that influenced the opening of the park were social opinions about an urban park, administrative policies related to urban parks, topographic features of the city, governance of Hokkaido over Muroran town, and the urban area of the industrial port city. Park improvements by the municipality (which was positively influenced by the Muroran Park Plan), donations by citizens, and the national policy promoting physical fitness contributed to the renovation of the park. Confiscation of the park by the Ministry of the Army at the World War II, changes in social conditions surrounding park administration after the war, and the enactment of the Urban Park Law led to the regenerated Muroran Park abandoned.