Becoming Apart: National Power And Local Politics In Toyama, 1868-1945; Author: Lewis, Michael; Hardback; Book

Author: Lewis, Michael
Series#:192; Harvard East Asian Monographs; Hardback; Book; 36 Illustrations, 4 Maps
376 pages
Published: September 2000
Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674002423

What ties bound region to center in the making of the modern japanese state? What forces shaped these bonds? How did the local -- center relationship change over time? What is its current legacy? Focusing on the marginal region of Toyama, on the Sea of Japan, the author explores the interplay of central and regional authorities, local and national perceptions of rights and the emerging political practices in Toyama and Tokyo that became part of the new political culture that took shape in Japan following the Meiji Restoration. Lewis argues that in response to the demands of the centralizing state, local elites and leaders in Toyama developed a repertoire of supple responses that varied with the political or economic issue at stake.Focusing on the marginal region of Toyama, this book explores the interplay of central and regional authorities, local and national perceptions of rights, and the emerging political practices in Toyama and Tokyo that became part of the new political culture in Japan following the Meiji Restoration.