これまでの学習で、江戸時代の様々な側面について知識を深めてきたね。しかし、君が教科書やこのサイトで学んでいる「江戸時代の歴史像」というのは、実は天から降ってきた絶対的なものではないんだ。それは、多くの歴史家たちが、過去の史料を丹念に読み解き、議論を重ね、それぞれの時代背景や問題意識の中で「再構成」してきたものなんだ。この「歴史学そのものの歴史」、特に特定の時代やテーマに関する研究がどのように進展し、解釈がどのように変わってきたのかを研究する分野を「歴史研究史（れきしけんきゅうし）」あるいは「ヒストリオグラフィー」と呼ぶ。
なぜ、江戸時代の「研究史」を学ぶことが大切なんだろうか？ それは、私たちが学ぶ歴史像が、決して一つではなく、固定的なものでもないことを理解するためだ。歴史解釈は、新しい史料の発見、新しい研究方法の登場、そして何よりもその時代その時代の社会状況や価値観の変化によって、常に更新され続けている。このことを知ることで、歴史に対する複眼的な視点と、情報を鵜呑みにしない批判的な思考力を養うことができる。このページでは、明治時代以降、現代に至るまで、日本の歴史学の中で江戸時代がどのように位置づけられ、評価されてきたのか、その主要な流れと論点を概観していくぞ。
【学術的豆知識】「江戸時代」という呼称はいつから？
僕たちは当たり前のように「江戸時代」と呼んでいるけれど、この呼称が一般的に定着したのは、実は明治時代以降なんだ。江戸時代の人々自身は、自分たちの時代を「江戸時代」とは呼んでいなかった。「徳川の世（とくがわのよ）」や「当代（とうだい：現在の時代）」、あるいは元号（「元禄の頃」「文化文政の頃」など）で呼ぶのが普通だった。明治政府が成立し、徳川幕府の時代を過去のものとして相対化する必要から、「江戸に幕府があった時代」という意味で「江戸時代」という時代区分が用いられるようになった。また、西洋史の時代区分（古代・中世・近代）にならって、日本の歴史を区分する際に、鎌倉・室町時代を「中世」、明治以降を「近代」とし、その間に入る時代として「近世（きんせい）」という呼称も学術的にはよく使われる。江戸時代は、まさにこの「近世」の中心的な時代なんだ。
(Click to listen) Although we casually use the term "Edo period," it actually became commonly established after the Meiji period. People living during the Edo period did not refer to their own time as the "Edo period." It was common to call it "Tokugawa no yo" (the Tokugawa era), "tōdai" (the current age), or by era names (gengō, such as "around Genroku" or "around Bunka-Bunsei"). After the Meiji government was established and there was a need to relativize the era of the Tokugawa Shogunate as a thing of the past, the term "Edo period," meaning "the period when the Shogunate was in Edo," came into use. Also, following Western historical periodization (ancient, medieval, modern), when dividing Japanese history, the Kamakura and Muromachi periods are referred to as "chūsei" (middle ages), the Meiji period onwards as "kindai" (modern times), and the intervening period is often academically called "kinsei" (early modern). The Edo period is precisely the central era of this "kinsei."
This Page's Summary in English (Click to expand and listen to paragraphs)
This page provides an overview of the historiography of the Edo period, examining how historical interpretations and evaluations of this era have evolved from the Meiji period to the present. Understanding this historiography helps in appreciating the dynamic nature of historical understanding and fosters a critical perspective.
From the Meiji to Taishō periods, early views often characterized the Edo period negatively as a "feudal" and "stagnant" era to be overcome (influenced by "Bunmei Shikan" - civilization historical view). However, with the rise of nationalism, some re-evaluation of its unique culture and institutions began. Under the dominant Kōkoku Shikan (Emperor-centered nationalistic historiography), the Edo period was often positioned within a narrative tội lỗi imperial continuity.
During the pre-war and wartime Shōwa period, Kōkoku Shikan became absolute, emphasizing aspects like Bushido and the "national polity" (Kokutai). Free research was restricted, and Marxist historical views were suppressed.
In the post-war Shōwa period (c. 1945s-1960s), with the repudiation of Kōkoku Shikan, historical studies were democratized and scientized. Marxist historiography (historical materialism) became influential, defining the Edo period as "feudal society" and focusing on class conflict and popular movements like peasant uprisings. The Meiji Restoration was often seen as a bourgeois revolution. Concurrently, Modernization Theory gained traction, re-evaluating the Edo period positively as a preparatory stage for Japan's successful modernization, highlighting its economic development, high literacy, and stable polity as "pre-modern factors."
From the late Shōwa period to the Heisei and Reiwa eras, research has become increasingly diverse and specialized. Socio-economic history delved into micro-level analyses and regional studies. Cultural and intellectual history saw new developments, with growing interest in popular culture, diverse thoughts, and communication. Social and daily life history expanded to include previously marginalized topics like women's history, discriminated peoples' history, family systems, disaster history, and environmental history. There's a stronger tendency to view the Edo period not merely as "feudal" or a "prelude to modernity," but as a rich and unique "early modern" (kinsei) era in its own right, often incorporating international and comparative perspectives.
Studying historiography is significant as it reveals that historical narratives are not fixed, helps understand how current historical knowledge is constructed, shows the dynamism of historical scholarship, and provides hints for forming one's own historical perspectives.
「江戸時代の歴史」そのものが、時代とともに様々な角度から見つめ直されてきたことが感じられただろうか？
これで第4部の探求は一区切りだ。次は、いよいよ君の「東大合格力」を直接鍛えるための最終ステージ、「第5部：東大入試対策 実践演習」へと進むぞ！