Author : Dorothy A. Bonnallie
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 426 pages
Book Rating : 4.F/5 ( download)
Book Synopsis Education in Early Meiji Japan, 1868-1890 by : Dorothy A. Bonnallie
Download or read book Education in Early Meiji Japan, 1868-1890 written by Dorothy A. Bonnallie and published by . This book was released on 1976 with total page 426 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Fukuzawa Yukichi, Niijima Jo and Mori Arinori represent the different positions of prominent educators who were instrumental in introducing Western education to early Meiji Japan. They represent the utilitarian, Christian and government approach to education respectively. The central questions of the dissertation are to discover how the men incorporated Western educational philosophy into Japanese society and, secondly, how they exemplified the freedom to choose internal values as the responsibility of the individual rather than the responsibility of the society or the government. Their thoughts on education are enunciated through the role of the intellectual, social equality and individual freedom. If, as assumed in the study, the focal point of loyalty under the Tokugawa was the political superior, then, the abolition of feudalism necessitated a redefinition of the concept of loyalty in relation to a new focal point. The suggestion is made that Fukuzawa, Niijima and Mori defined loyalty in terms of internal values which they regarded as private or personal values; whereas in the nationalism which later developed in Japan, the definition of internal values became the responsibility of government. In other words, Loyalty for the three men was more of a moral responsibility of independent and free citizens; in nationalism loyalty became a duty of obedient subjects. An overview of 19th century Japanese education is presented in Chapter II and includes the aims and purposes of Tokugawa education, the changes resulting from importation of Western educational philosophies after the restoration and the controversy which led to the inclusion of Confucian morals in the education system (Imperial Rescript on Education, 1890). The educational philosophies of Fukuzawa, Niijima and Mori are reviewed in Chapter III. Special emphasis is directed to their concepts of individual freedom and independence and to the role of the intellectual in the changing social environment. Although there was much dissension among the political, educational and social reformers of the early Mieji period, all claimed to have the welfare of the national uppermost in mind. How the patriotic thought of the three representative Japanese educators influenced education is the subject of Chapter IV. The result of educational and social changes are discussed in Chapter V.
