The Renaissance of Takefu: How People and the Local Past Changed the Civic Life of a Regional Japanese Town (East Asia (New York, N.Y.).)

This book tells the story of a citizen group through the example and results of their participation in local civic life. The book draws attention to the complicated conditions under which civic participation may succeed. The story is about the individuals and organizations in the regional Japanese town of Takefu, but these events are also placed in the context of the surrounding Japanese Sea region of west Japan and the wider currents of the Japanese nation-state at the time. Also includes maps. This book tells the story of a citizen group through the example and results of their participation in local civic life. The book draws attention to the complicated conditions under which civic participation may succeed. The story is about the individuals and organizations in the regional Japanese town of Takefu, but these events are also placed in the context of the surrounding Japanese Sea region of west Japan and the wider currents of the Japanese nation-state at the time. Also includes maps Book Cover......Page 1 Title......Page 4 Contents......Page 5 Acknowledgments......Page 10 Preface......Page 12 Renewal, Local History, and Politics......Page 14 The Place of the Past in Takefu......Page 38 Concerned About the Future of the Past......Page 92 Smokescreens and Stonewalls in the Art Museum Affair......Page 142 The Significance of Japanese Civil Society......Page 172 Takefu's Civil Society in Renaissance......Page 216 Bibliography......Page 234 Index......Page 254