This article analyzes the problem of Japanese Army military exercises conducted during the Taisho Era, a topic to which the research to date on the Army has paid little attention. Nevertheless, such military exercises during that time were very important in the influence they exerted on various relations between the Army and local communities. The author first finds that the military exercises conducted by the Army's 13th Division met with difficulty due to a lack of interest in such activities on the part of residents around where the Division was stationed and their reluctance to supply the Army with recruits. The reason behind such difficulty was, according to the division commander, the tendency to conduct exercises repeatedly in the same area, leading to the suggestion that alternative regions be selected. Actually, alternating sites had been stipulated in the Army manual for military exercises, but the 13th Division had failed to comply with such regulations. Secondly, during that same time, the tactics being employed in military exercises had come under criticism among Army officers, who complained about contradictions in exercise planning and terrain, as well as in coordinating troop movements. Many suggestions were made as to how to improve the situation, but were not implemented, leading to the decision to repeat exercises in a given region and the dilemma encountered by the 13th Division and the local communities around it. Finally, the Army did take steps to correct the problem, such as loosening regulations concerning terrain and geographical conditions, thus increasing the number of regions where exercises could be conducted, in the hope of improving relations between Army divisions and local residents. Armament reductions also helped alleviate fixed military burdens, but in earnest solutions to the problems at hand were put off for later generations.
抄録全体を表示