d. The Opening of Kindergartens

The Education System Order provided for pre-elementary level schooling as a form of elementary education to be set up for the instruction of those children who were under six years of age. It never progressed beyond the planning stage, as the emphasis in those years was distinctly on formal elementary education and serious consideration could not be extended to preschool age children. Outside of official educational activities, however, the earliest incidence of this sort of facility was the opening of the Yochi Yukijo in December, 1875, at Kyoto, which appears to have been patterned after the German kindergarten system instituted by Friedrich W. Frobel (1782-1852). It lasted for only one and a half years. Another was opened in the following year under the auspices of Tokyo Women's Normal School, and this institution became the real forerunner of the modern kindergarten. Planning for this school by the Department of Education began in July, 1875, and permission was granted for the establishment by the Grand Council in September of that year. Formal opening ceremonies were held in November, 1876, after final administrative and construction plans were completed. A German lady who had studied under Frobel and married a Japanese was appointed head teacher. Most of the pupils enrolled there were sons and daughters of upper class families. Regulations for the kindergarten were compiled by Tokyo Women's Normal School in June, 1877, at which time subjects and a timetable were decided for the teaching. According to the regulations, children from three to six years of age were divided into three age groups and attended sessions of four hours per day. The curriculum comprised three subjects: objects, beauty and knowledge. The study of objects included such things as utensils, plants, animals and the like with which the child came into daily contact. The study of beauty used colors and pictures which appealed to children and the study of knowledge attempted to develop an awareness of things chiefly through introducing children to systematic play tools and the like. This kindergarten came to be the model for most of the subsequent kindergartens.