社説:昭和天皇実録 国民に開く近現代史に

September 09, 2014(Mainichi Japan)
Editorial: Emperor Showa's annals important material for modern history
社説:昭和天皇実録　国民に開く近現代史に

The Imperial Household Agency has released the annals of Emperor Showa that records his words and deeds throughout his 87-year-long life. The official record has provided an important temporal axis for research on the history of Emperor Showa, but it is still necessary to clarify the true meaning of, and evaluate the significance of his words and deeds. The release of the annals should be an important step toward fruitful research on the history of the Showa Era that is open to the public.
　８７年の生涯にわたり、日々の動静や言行を記録した「昭和天皇実録」を宮内庁が公開した。昭和史研究は重要な「時間軸」を得たが、個々の事象の意義づけや実態解明にはまだ余地を残している。これを大きなステップとして、国民に開かれた実り豊かな研究へとつなげたい。

Modern history, including the history of the Showa Era, is complex just like a maze in a deep forest. The annals of Emperor Showa were expected to shed light on how he made decisions at various stages of that era, what he said and how he changed, or was unable to change, certain situations.
　昭和史など近現代史は深い森に分け入る迷路のように複雑だ。昭和天皇がその中のさまざまな局面でどう判断し、何を語り、事態を動かしたか、あるいは動かし得なかったか。こうしたことに新たに光を当てる期待も担った実録だった。

However, the 60-volume annals contain nothing that could overturn what are regarded as established historical facts.
　だが、６０巻に上る記録には、これまで定説とされてきた史実や構図を大きく変えるものはなかった。

　◇平和求める像変わらず

Based on constitutional monarchy under the Meiji Constitution, Emperor Showa was wary of the military's tyrannical behavior and had some feuds with the military because he hoped for peace, according to the annals. As such, the record confirms the well-established image of Emperor Showa.
　立憲君主制の自制的ルールに立ちつつ、軍部の専横を警戒し、平和を求めて確執もあったという、これまでの昭和天皇像を改めて示したといえるだろう。

Still, it may be somewhat disappointing to those who expected the annals to reveal Emperor Showa's anguish and wavering as well as other details.
　しかし、その苦悩や迷い、錯誤も含め、もっと具体的に細部にわたる内情や事態の推移がここに明らかになることを求めていたなら、「期待はずれ」の感を持った人も少なくないだろう。

The annals quote Emperor Showa and describe how he expressed his views in a restrained manner.
　この実録は、昭和天皇の肉声や見解表明の記述について抑制的姿勢を通している。

None of Emperor Showa's words were blacked out, as opposed to the annals of his father Emperor Taisho. However, some researchers have pointed to the possibility that the editor of the annals of Emperor Showa may have chosen to use non-committal descriptions instead of blacking out any of his words it quotes.
　大正天皇実録で公開時に一部を伏せて批判された「黒塗り」はしない、としていたが、むしろそれで当たり障りのない記述に傾いたきらいはないか、と指摘する研究者もいる。

Regarding this point, the Imperial Household Agency explained, "Once the details of his remarks are written in his annals, the words have wings. We cautiously considered each of his words and chose mainly to write the points of his remarks instead of directly quoting him."
　この点について宮内庁は「発言内容にしても、いったん書いてしまうと、実録に書かれているということでひとり歩きする。個別に慎重に検討し、原則、（昭和天皇の）ご発言についてはその趣旨を記述して、直接引用しない傾向となった」と説明している。

However, the editor could have made up for a lack of direct quotes from Emperor Showa by explaining what he said in notes. Moreover, some of what are widely regarded as his well-known words are omitted in his annals.
　しかし、注釈などで工夫の余地はあるはずだ。これまで定説とされてきたような発言でも実録に用いられなかったものもある。

Some critics say that the standards for selecting historical materials and deciding whether to record events in his annals remain obscure, with one of them saying, "The selection appears arbitrary and is hard to understand."
　また、史料の選択、採否の線引き、基準があいまいで、「恣意（しい）的なようで、とてもわかりにくい」という批判が出ている。

There are problems with the way the sources of information are identified. The annals do not show the dates, pages and chapters of books from which it quotes information, making it difficult for researchers to assess the official record or conduct further research on the history of Emperor Showa.
　典拠の示し方についても問題がある。列記してある文献の日付やページ、章、節などがないため、それがどの部分によっているのか判然としない。これでは後に検証や発展的な研究をしようとしても、大きなネックになる。

One of the most important achievements in the annals is the discovery of new historical materials, which will certainly contribute to future research activities.
　今回の実録の大きな収穫の一つは新史料の発見である。これは今後の研究発展に寄与するに違いない。

A total of 3,152 historical materials were used to compile the official record, which took nearly a quarter of a century to complete, according to the Imperial Household Agency. About 40 of these materials are believed to be documents that had not been publicized before the release of the annals.
　宮内庁によると、四半世紀近い年月を費やした実録の作成過程で、使った史料は３１５２件に上った。そのうち、約４０件がこれまで公になっていなかったとみられる。

For example, the diary and other materials kept by former Grand Chamberlain Saburo Hyakutake, who served Emperor Showa during World War II, can be important research objects. Moreover, diaries kept by other chamberlains shed light on Emperor Showa's daily activities.
　例えば、戦時期に側近として仕え、昭和天皇の信頼を得ていた百武三郎侍従長の日記や関係資料など、新史料自体が重要な研究対象になり得る。また侍従日誌なども日常の動静記録に大きな役割を果たした。
   
Measures to release these materials to the public and effectively use them for research should be implemented without being bound by precedent. The Imperial Household Agency intends to withhold chamberlains' diaries without designating them as official documents. Still, the annals are important records.
　その公開や研究協力などによって生かす方策を、前例にとらわれることなく講じるべきだろう。侍従日誌などは皇室が管理する「お手元文書」として公文書扱いせず、公開されないというが、今回その貴重な記録性は証明された。

　◇なぜいま昭和史なのか

The Showa Era is already part of history. What happened in that era has been regularly discussed in the past, and the annals of Emperor Showa have drawn extensive attention from the public.
　「昭和」は既に歴史である。
　その時代が後世も絶えず論じられてきた。そうした中で今回は実録が広く注目された。

Why do we look back on the history of the Showa Era and try to learn from that period? It is because many challenges we face now are rooted in that era. The challenges involve not only politics, diplomacy and the economy but also a wide diversity of matters including lifestyles and values.
　なぜ私たちが昭和史を絶えず振り返り、そこから学び取ろうとするのだろうか。今の時代が抱える大きな課題の根っこが、昭和にあるからだ。政治、外交、経済のみならず、生活様式や価値観まで多岐にわたる。

Moreover, we must continue to ask why Japan was unable to avoid the catastrophic war. In the annals, one of the important points that have drawn special attention from the public is the change in the situation concerning Japan before and after the war broke out. However, the matter is far from being clarified.
　そして、続けなければならないのは「なぜ、あの破滅的な戦争は回避できなかったのか」という問いかけである。この実録の中でも、開戦前後の事態の推移がとりわけ注目されたポイントの一つだった。しかし解明にはまだ遠い。

The annals should be open to the public as a source that allows people to learn lessons from the Showa Era and put them to good use in the future all the more because the number of those who were involved in or experienced the war, which brought unprecedented hardships and changes to both Japan and the world, have significantly decreased.
　まして、国内外に空前の苦難と大転換をもたらした戦争の当事者や体験者が少なくなった今、実録を、昭和に学び、未来に生かす基礎史料として国民に開かれたものとしたい。

The process of Japan snowballing from crisis to crisis and eventually collapsing in the war is complex and difficult to clarify. However, clarifying this process would provide important lessons for us.
　あの戦争で、坂道を転じるように、雪だるま式に危機を膨らませ破綻したプロセスは、決して単線的ではなく、その解明は容易ではない。しかし、それは今極めて重要な教訓になるものである。

There are various ways of utilizing the annals.
　実録の活用法はさまざまにある。

It records the names of those who were allowed to meet with Emperor Showa as well as the details of their meetings. Although the purposes of their meetings are summarized or omitted, the names of individuals who met with Emperor Showa, the timing of their meetings and the frequency and how much time was spent on the meetings could be a clue to in-depth research.
　実録は、日々の昭和天皇の「謁を賜った」さまざまな会見者、会話者を、時間とともに詳しく記録している。その用件は略記、あるいは省略されていても、時期と人物、回数、費やした時間などを指標に深層探究の糸口となり得るという。

The writings of Emperor Showa in his childhood, as well as the wide variety of Japanese and overseas films he enjoyed, which the annals introduce to its readers, shed more light on his human side. This is also an important achievement of the annals.
　また、今回、実録で紹介された昭和天皇の幼少期の文章、鑑賞した数多い内外の映画などから、人間的な側面もより多彩になった。こうした側面も成果といえよう。

It goes without saying that journalism has the responsibility to ensure that information recorded in the annals is open to the public so that researchers study the Showa Era from various angles and people can share the information as common property.
　開かれた情報のもと、実録の多様な切り口から研究を豊かにし、国民共有の財産とする。
　その責任が研究者のみならず、ジャーナリズムにあることはいうまでもない。

毎日新聞　2014年09月09日　05時15分（最終更新　09月09日　06時48分）