| Series title: | BCOF related newspaper articles |
| Title (romaji) | Kure shishi hensanshitsu zô senryôgun kanren shinbun kiji |
| Title (kanji) |  |
AJRP details | |
| AJRP module: | Kure Municipal History Office |
Location details | |
| Institution: | Kure Municipal History Office |
| Institution series: | Kure shishi hensanshitsu zô senryôgun kanren shinbun kiji |
Series qualities | |
| Quantity: | Approx. 1500 items |
| Access: | Open |
| Series type: | Unpublished, Published, Private, Official |
| Finding Aids: | none |
Series content | |
| Creation date range (year): | 1945 to 1965 |
| Conflict code: | Japan (1945-1957), Post-war (related to WW2), Korean War (1950-1953) |
| Keywords: | BRITISH COMMONWEALTH FORCES IN KOREA, BRITISH COMMONWEALTH OCCUPATION FORCE, OCCUPATION, CRIME, UNEMPLOYMENT, WAR BRIDES |
| Australian unit names: | |
| Allied unit names: | BRITISH COMMONWEALTH OCCUPATION FORCE |
| Japanese unit names: | |
| Languages: | Japanese |
| Area: | Kure [Japan–Formosa, Honshû, Hiroshima Prefecture] |
| Biographical / Institutional info: | The Kure Municipal History Office was established in 1983 to publish the "Kure City history". The principal historian, Mr CHIDA Takeshi, decided to emphasise the effect of the occupation forces in the post-Second World War section of the "Kure City history". He set out to locate relevant materials in Japan, visiting various research institutions, such as the National Institute for Defence Studies, the Diet Library and the Diplomatic Records Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Locally, the office collected municipal documents from the Kure Municipal Office, the Hiroshima Municipal Office, the Hiroshima Prefectural Office and other neighbouring municipal offices. As for secondary sources, the office has an extensive collection of regional history books which include some information on the occupation forces. Another unique strength of the Kure collection lies in the richness of historical materials which were collected outside of Japan. Field trips to Australia and New Zealand were organised in 1988 and 1989 to collect historical data. In Australia, visits were made to the Australian War Memorial, the Australian Archives (now called the National Archives of Australia) and the National Library of Australia. In those institutions, the relevant materials were located and photocopied to be sent back to Kure. For example, the office has a complete set of British Commonwealth occupation news (a newspaper which was published for BCOF personnel in Japan between 1946 and 1951), and is the only Japanese institution to have the set. The photocopied materials were translated into Japanese by a team of translators in order to use the information in The Kure City history. In 1995, a field trip was made to the United States in order to collect materials from American archives. (For further details see the AJRP essay on the Kure History project.) |
| Content: | These documents consist of articles from major national and local newspapers in Japan, including the Asahi Newspaper, the Chûgoku Daily Newspaper, the Chûgoku Newspaper, the Kure Daily, the Kure Nichi Nichi Newspaper, and the Mainichi Newspaper. Copies of the articles are held by the Kure Municipal History Office and were compiled for the "Kure City history", a multi-volume history of the city. Matters discussed in the articles include the arrival, deployment and departure of the Allied occupation forces, the outset of the Korean War and its effect on the occupation and Kure citizens, as well as contemporary social issues such as crime, water supply, unemployment and labour unions. |
Other information | |
| Notes: | These records were made available through the kind assistance of Professor CHIDA Takeshi, formerly of the Kure Municipal History Office. |
| Last modified: | 02/09/2005 02:06:05 PM |
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