메이지 초기의 쿄토부 소학교의 설립과 운영

Abstract

Since the visit of Perry in 1853, the Meiji government made efforts to transform Japan into modern nation by introducing Western institution and civilization under the object of wealth and military power of nation in the world situation. Realizing that modernization was difficult without autonomous domestic reformation, the then Meiji government pushed forward the policy of modernization in the overall areas of politics, economy, society and culture. Among the policies of Meiji government, the introduction of modern educational system including establishment of school system in 1872 played an important role in the general reform of consciousness of Japanese. Recognizing that education was the basic premise for wealth and military power of nation, the Meiji government intended to foster modern citizens by promulgating school system. Especially, the importance of primary school system was emphasized in that it was the basis for modern educational system. Among the primary schools, the activity of Kyoto Primary School was a typical example that showed the spontaneous local activity. While the Meiji government intended to build the fundament of modern education through the educational system in 1872, 64 primary schools were already established and governed in the city of Kyoto in 1869, three years earlier. This activity was a peculiarity of the province of Kyoto, which could not be found in other provinces in those days. The role and feature of provinces in the modernization of Japan at that time could be seen with these examples of the province of Kyoto. The primary schools in the province of Kyoto were educational institutions established autonomously and separately from the activity of central government and they had disticntive characters different from those of primary schools in the other provinces. Above all, the then primary schools in Kyoto were in charge of both education and administration, assuming the role of autonomous administrative body in the province of Kyoto. As the primary schools in the province of Kyoto assumed the role of administrative body, they induced the spontaneous participation of inhabitants in Kyoto. Accordingly, primary schools became an organization with strong power of combination as the basis of regional autonomy in Kyoto. The other feature was that the primary schools in Kyoto established companies for primary school to support the management of primary school. As the basic policy of the primary schools in Kyoto was autonomous management, they were in need of spontaneous donation of the inhabitants and an organization which would manage it. Companies for primary school were established for this purpose. Established to maintain the primary schools in Kyoto and to save poor people, they became the foundation for the municipal administration of Kyoto. These were characters that could be found in the region of Kyoto only. Among them, the most prominent character of primary schools in Kyoto was the cooperation between government and people. After the Meiji renovation, Kyoto pushed forward the establishment of primary schools, a modern educational system, to overcome its difficulty. Gradually recognizing the necessity of establishing primary schools, the inhabitants of Kyoto came to positively participate in the policy of Kyoto. Thanks to this close cooperation between government and people, primary schools in Kyoto played a leading role among the ones around the country in the Meiji era. The effect was much faster that that of the other provinces which prepared to establish primary schools in the similar era. Considering these points, it can be concluded that the modernization of Japan was accelerated by the spontaneous local activity.