ABSTRACT
In thinking about the intersection of local history and the politics of culture, we have seen only one half of the scene. What remains is the other half of the story in which the mayor’s own machinations subverted the refurbishment of the Kōkaidō Hall in order to create instead an art museum, much to everyone’s surprise. In their vigilance, Takefu Renaissance uncovered the mishandling of money and city council resolutions. The group’s experiences with the news media, city hall staff and councilors shed light on the arena for public discussion and initiatives-the space of civil society in Japan. The previous chapters have told only half of the story of local history and the politics of renewing Takefu; namely, the world of local history activities and groups, and the regard for the past which townspeople hold. The other half of the story concerns the politics surrounding the Kōkaidō Hall (KKD) conversion into a town museum, and the uses of local history more generally to stimulate business and civic life. Each of these groups, along with the intentions and conventions they bring to the task of creating Takefu’s museum are presented here, interspersed with the chronology of the KKD after December 1993. Although a sketch of these groups can be made from the words and day-to-day functions of each, an even more revealing glimpse into the politics of renewing this regional Japanese town comes from the actual sequence of events. The mayor’s surreptitious perversion of the museum plan caused each of these players to amplify and exaggerate its own part. By combining scholarly observations with Takefu conversations and the chronology of the KKD affair, this chapter will pick up the story of the KKD begun in chapter two and describe the parts played by each group in this example of Japanese civil society, which itself will be the subject of the following chapter.
