（1）The Consolidation of the Curriculums of the Various Schools

According to the various school orders of 1886, several types of schools were systematized, and the Minister of Education determined standards for courses on the basis of these school orders. In May, 1886, Subjects and Their Standards for Elementary Schools were issued. Similar standards were issued for ordinary and higher middle schools and ordinary and higher normal schools respectively in that year.

Later, with respect to elementary schools, on the basis of the 1890 Elementary School Order, in November, 1891, various regulations including the Outline of the Course of Study for Elementary Schools and Regulations concerning Weekly Subject Hours for Elementary Schools were issued. The Outline specified in detail the content of each subject and a notice related to the latter Regulations showed an example of the number of hours to be devoted each week to each subject as illustrated in Table 3-4. With respect to ordinary middle schools, subject standards were revised in 1894. As for girls' high schools, the 1895 Girls' High School Regulations for the first time specified such standards. In the case of ordinary normal schools, new standards were issued in 1892.

In 1900, comprehensive Regulations for the Enforcement of the 1900 Elementary School Order were issued; and in 1901, the 1901 Regulations for the Enforcement of the 1899 Middle School Order and Regulations for the Enforcement of the Girls' High School Order were issued. (Subjects and weekly subject hours for middle schools and girls' high schools in 1901 asspecified in these Regulations are shown in Table 3-8 andTable 3-9 respectively and for comparison, in Table 3-7 are shown subjects and weekly subject hours for ordinary middleschools as they were in 1886.)

In 1908, the period for compulsory education was extended to six years with the enforcement of the 1907 revision of the 1900 Elementary School Order, and subjects and weekly subject hours for ordinary elementary schools and higher elementary schools came to be as illustrated in Table 3-5 and 3-6 according to the March, 1907, revision of Regulations for the Enforcement of the 1900 Elementary School Order, which came into force at the same time.

Table 3-4. Subjects and Weekly Subject Hours for Elementary Schools (1886, 1891)

Table 3-5. Subjects and Weekly Subject Hours for Ordinary Elementary Schools (1908)

Table 3-6. Subjects and Weekly Subject Hours for Higher Elementary Schools (1908)