History of the Selection Process for 16 National Park Proposed Sites in Taisho Era and Tamura Tsuyoshi’s Views on National Parks

Abstract

The first 12 national parks in Japan were designated from 1934 to 1936; however, the designation process actually began in 1921, with a survey of 16 proposed sites. From these original 16 sites, 11 were selected, and the selection process of 16 proposed sites illuminates the first stage of national park designation in Japan. First, this study details the selection process of 16 proposed sites, which has not been discussed in previous research. Second, it discusses the views on national parks of Tamura Tsuyoshi, who was charged by the Central Sanitary Bureau, Home Office with a central role in selecting national parks. The research method used in this study depends on the discovery and analysis of coetaneous, previously unknown material, including books, magazine reports, press reports, and Imperial Diet minutes during the Taisho era and the beginning of the Showa era. It seems that the 16 sites were chosen based on adjustment with regional requests and a criteria determined by Tamura.