The 2018 and 2019 Indonesian elections: identity politics and regional perspectives

Abstract

a blessing in disguise. More than other large-scale infrastructural projects, the canal to Lake Biwa absorbed government resources. Initially intended as an encouragement of transportation and in powering water wheels, its original goals quickly became obsolete. Trains became the favorite mode of transportation with the construction of Kyoto Station. Canal water, however, found alterative usage. The Keage power station generated electricity and powered Japan’s first city trams. Okazaki, planned as an industrial town, turned into a suburban area full of villas with extensive gardens and parks benefiting from the waters of Lake Biwa. Kuniga Yumiko draws a portray of Nihonga painting schools as they redesigned inherited styles of vision under Western influences and in relation to the Tokyo interpretations of the modern. Yoshii Takao describes one of the areas of urban pride and identification, Kyō yaki, the quintessential “typical” pottery named after its town of origin. Much of its creation owns to potters crossing the boundaries of different crafts incorporating design skills from the textile industry and the latest European production technologies. Ever since the Meiji period, export income and foreign tastes played a significant part to sustain and transform local artisanship competing not only on price but also in search of distinctive qualities. Kyoto’s Renaissance is the first in-depth English-language history of late nineteenth century Kyoto. The volume speaks to readers interested in Meiji Japan, urban development and cultural history. One question the volume may have explored further is what were the costs of redeveloping Kyoto as “ancient capital” in the service of the modern nation? The book describes well the short-term benefits to the city at various levels but the long-term constraints of urban development strategies and the path dependencies these initiated remain unexamined. How did Kyoto deal with the disjuncture of modernity beyond its political, cultural, and religious elite? What changes were weaved into the social and economic fabric of daily life in town? As attractive as Kyoto is today to domestic and foreign tourists alike, it has also become very dependent on the tourism industry, as is acutely felt during restrictions imposed during the Coronavirus pandemic. Even before this 2020 rupture, Kyoto was the poorest of Japan’s 20 major cities in terms of per capita income, trailing significantly behind Osaka, the merchant capital of the Kansai region. Evaluating Meiji history in hindsight does not do justice to the people at the time but if we also consider the alternative paths not taken and the disadvantages of the paths traveled in awareness of other urban histories, we will gain a more comprehensive understanding of the history of modern Kyoto.