Meiji Restoration Losers: Memory and Tokugawa Supporters in Modern Japan (Harvard East Asian Monographs)
by Michael Wert (Author) Format: Hardcover
4.9 4.9 out of 5 stars (15)
Part of: Harvard East Asian Monographs (138 books)
This book is about the “losers” of the Meiji Restoration and the supporters who promoted their legacy. Although the violence of the Meiji Restoration is typically downplayed, the trauma was real, and those who felt marginalized from the mainstream throughout modern Japan looked to these losers as models of action.
Using a wide range of sources, from essays by former Tokugawa supporters like Fukuzawa Yukichi to postwar film and “lost decade” manga, Michael Wert traces the shifting portrayals of Restoration losers. By highlighting the overlooked sites of memory such as legends about buried gold, the awarding of posthumous court rank, or fighting over a disembodied head, Wert illustrates how the process of commemoration and rehabilitation allows individuals a voice in the formation of national history. He argues that the commingling of local memory activists and nationally-known politicians, academics, writers, and treasure hunters formed interconnecting memory landscapes that promoted local figures as potential heroes in modern Japan.
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About the Author
マイケル・ワート
Michael Wert
マルケット大学(米ウィスコンシン州)歴史学准教授。専門は日本近世史。1997年ジョージ・ワシントン大学卒業(東アジア研究)。2007年カリフォルニア大学で博士号取得(東アジア史)。小栗上野介最期の地、群馬県の倉渕村(現在は群馬県高崎市の一部)の中学校で英語教員を務めたことをきっかけに小栗研究を開始。古武術の馬庭念流と弓道を嗜む。
著書『明治維新の敗者たち――小栗上野介をめぐる記憶と歴史』(Meiji Restoration Losers: Memory and Tokugawa Supporters in Modern Japan, Harvard University Asia Center, 2013, 野口良平訳、みすず書房)。
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明治維新の敗者たち
明治維新の敗者たち
Product Details
Publisher : みすず書房
Publication date : June 18, 2019
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Review
"Meiji Restoration Losers is essential reading for historians of the Bakumatsu or Restoration eras, and highly recommended for any scholars with an interest in modern Japanese historiography." -- Pacific Affairs
"Michael Wert offers a highly readable study of the complex politics of regional memory in modern Japan." -- Journal of Asian Studies
About the Author
Michael Wert is an Associate Professor of History at Marquette University.
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From the United States
ihichan
5.0 out of 5 stars Great for historical memory and material culture
Reviewed in the United States on April 29, 2022
Format: Paperback
This is an academic monograph that contributes greatly to the theory of historical memory and Material culture even for people who are not interested in Japan as such. This might not be interesting for the general reader however
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Michael A. Mccarthy
5.0 out of 5 stars Memory in the Meiji Restoration
Reviewed in the United States on June 27, 2018
Format: Hardcover
This is an innovative and well-written book about memory theory and historical memory. It uses the losers of the Meiji Restoration as a way to propose how "memory landscapes," and memory in general, can address larger historical questions. Wert dives deeply into the material culture of the period, uncovers fascinating stories about buried treasure, and shows how local people can actually affect national interpretations of history.
One person found this helpful
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Rekishi no Tabi
3.0 out of 5 stars An interesting study of the treatment of Oguri Tadamasa's historical reputation through time
Reviewed in the United States on August 7, 2014
Format: Hardcover
This is good if you are looking for a very in-depth study into the battle to restore the tarnished image of the high-ranking shogunate official, Oguri Tadamasa, following his execution at the hands of the Japanese Imperial Army in 1868. What the book lacks, however, is a concise and well-polished introduction that explains Oguri to unfamiliar readers. The sketch provided of Oguri's life and death seemed a little shallow.
Wert does excel at explaining the efforts to rehabilitate Oguri's reputation from the Meiji Period into 21st century, as well as those who sought to keep Oguri's reputation in the dust bin of history along with other losers of the Meiji Coup. Which leads me to the title-- "Meiji Restoration Losers"-- there is scant mention of other 'losers' from the Tokugawa side- such as Ii Naosuke, Matsudaira Katamori and members of the Shinsengumi. Again, the book is very focused on Oguri. However, one brief excursion that Wert ventured into that was of extreme interest is the lingering issues of 'memory' stemming from the Boshin War between Aizu (in present-day Fukushima prefecture) and Yamaguchi and Kagoshima prefectures (the old domains of Chōshū and Satsuma). Wert suggests that the problems of memory that plague Korean-Japanese-Chinese relations are quite similar.
Overall, a little dry in writing style, but quite juicy in detailing the war for Oguri's reputation that has been waged since 1868.
9 people found this helpful
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From other countries
弓道三段
5.0 out of 5 stars 「徳川埋蔵金」ではない小栗上野介
Reviewed in Japan on January 25, 2015
Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
英語が得意ではないので、辞書をひきつつ読んでいます。
日本の「近代」を徳川幕府側にいて用意したと再評価される小栗上野介忠順の、
価値ある研究が、著者 Michael Wert によってなされたことに敬意を表しつつ。
ぜひ、日本語訳 Japanese Edition 『明治維新の敗者たち』が出版されることを希望します。
何につけ「勝ち組」主語の叙述が「正史」とされてきたことへの critical な視点。
これは日本の近代史ではあるけれど、サイードの「オリエンタリズム」にも通じる
優れて批評的で公正なメッセージであると考えますし、心身ともに日本文化をよく知る
このアメリカの若い研究者による recovery に、友情を込めて感謝します。
それにしても OGURI は、NHKの大河ドラマにもふさわしい人物ではないでしょうか。
日本人として初めて、世界一周を経験した知識人、幕府側の開明的な改革派官僚。
光の当たる坂本龍馬や勝海舟、Meiji Restoraition の偉人たちの、陰に隠れた好敵手。
維新のなるその年に「斬首」された最期は、あまりにも悲劇的ではあるけれど。
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From Japan
岡田実
5.0 out of 5 stars 良品
Reviewed in Japan on September 3, 2026
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
新品に近い保存でした
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goodmooning🌙
5.0 out of 5 stars ご当地有名人の発掘の仕方
Reviewed in Japan on April 28, 2026
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
薩長史観で埋もれた価値あるローカルレベルの著名人たちをメモリーアクティビスト達が
発掘していくことに焦点を当てた地道な作業です。幕臣・小栗上野介忠順は2027年大河ドラマ
「逆賊の幕臣」で主人公として抜擢されて大躍進を遂げて注目をされています。郷土史愛好家
や地元に有名人を発掘してプロデュースした一村一品運動の著名人版みたいな書籍です。
本書では会津での大河ドラマ「八重の桜」も取り扱っております。悪漢というヴィランも視点を
変えると時代の節目節目の主人公たり得ることを戦略的に示せることを分からせる一冊です。
敗者や賊軍と言っても山口昌夫氏程にマニアックでは無いですが…
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amnjack
5.0 out of 5 stars これまでの研究のまとめとしては面白い
Reviewed in Japan on March 20, 2021
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
小栗上野介に関わるこれまでの研究を批判したり消化したりされているので，これまでの研究のまとめとしては大変参考になる。
4 people found this helpful
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sjiro
5.0 out of 5 stars 新品同様でした。
Reviewed in Japan on February 17, 2021
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
たいへんきれいな状態で満足しております。ありがとうございました。
3 people found this helpful
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ガロ
5.0 out of 5 stars 政治・社会との関係を俯瞰した優れた伝記書
Reviewed in Japan on August 16, 2021
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
現存する日誌も含めた膨大な資料を分析し、まだ読み切っていませんが素晴らしい内容です。
6 people found this helpful
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