（9）The Establishment of Elementary Schools and New Country Schools

Although many terakoya and private schools (shijuku) dating back to the Edo period continued, following the Meiji Restoration, new schools such as elementary schools and country schools called gogakko were established. These two types of new schools were common in this period, though in some areas they were not officially distinguished. The first were preparatory academies for entry into middle schools and were maintained mainly for children of the leading classes; they usually developed from the elementary level of fief schools. The second offered instruction to lower class children of rural and commercial backgrounds. The latter formed the basis for the elementary school system which appeared following the proclamation of the Education System Order.

Prior to the proclamation of the Education System Order, the prefectural government of Tokyo inaugurated plans for the establishment of a system of elementary schools under the guidance of the central government. In 1869 the central government recommended that the prefectural government of Tokyo set up a planning committee for the establishment of middle and elementary schools. Accordingly the prefectural government decided to open six elementary schools in the following year. Instruction was given mainly to the children of the leading classes in temple buildings. After the establishment of the Department of Education in 1871, all of these schools came under its jurisdiction and became schools for ordinary citizens.

Then with the proclamation in 1872 of the Education System Order, these schools came again under the direct control of the prefectural government of Tokyo.

The situation in Kyoto differed in that school district organizations took the lead in organizing elementary schools. Between June, 1869, and January of the following year, 64 schools opened for classes. In addition to teaching children these schools served various other functions as community centers used for meeting-places and also for adult education, government liaison offices, police posts, and fire stations. Funds for the operation of these schools were provided by the assessment of a school tax for which each household in the school district was liable. This system was important in that it led other localities to set up similar measures during the period followtng the proclamation of the Education System Order.

In 1869, prefectural regulations for elementary school operations were established in Kyoto. In practice, however, there was no uniformity; each school determined its own curriculum. Later, the prefectural government of Kyoto revised its regulations based on the central government's Middle and Elementary School Regulations. According to the revised regulations, reading, recitations, calligraphy and arithmetic were offered on five grade levels. Teachers were to be recruited in three subject areas, i.e. reading, calligraphy and arithmetic. In 1871, the prefectural government announced an Elementary School Syllabus (Shogaku Kagyohyo) which included a number of translated textbooks and other books sympathetic to the new Civilization and Enlightenment movement along wrth the traditional materials.

Numazu Military Academy and an attached elementary school were created in Numazu in 1869 under the directorship of Nishi Amane (1829-1897). In the attached elementary school the basic program consisted of three grades of classes in reading, calligraphy and arithmetic; and there geography, physical education, swimming and lectures were also provided. This curriculum had modern elements that Western arithmetic was offered and geography was treated as an independent subject. The elementary school being a preparatory institution for the Military Academy initially did not admit commoners, but later efforts were made to open it to commoners.

A great number of new country schools called gogakko appeared throughout the country after the Meiji Restoration. Some of the old country schools (gogaku or goko) and terakoya which had existed during the previous period provided education of an elementary level. The newly established country schools retained some of the features of these earlier schools - notably in their curriculum and their orientation to local inhabitants. But whereas the terakoya had been established by individual persons and the old country schools mainly by fiefs, the new country schools were established and maintained primarily by communities or groups of local volunteers (though there were also a few schools established by prefectures and fiefs). In the respect that these country schools offered instruction for commoners and that many of these schools were established by communities or the like they were similar to the local public elementary school established after the proclamation of the Education System Order. However, most of the country schools did not call themselves elementary schools as prescribed in the Education System Order, for in the early Restoration period this term was still being used for the elementary schools for sons of the samurai class and thus had an aristocratic connotation.

Kanagawa was an area where plans for country schools were developed in the early Restoration period. According to an official announcement dated 1871, 27 country schools were to be established in the prefecture in order to inaugurate a systematic training program for the inhabitants of the area. Each country school was to be established by an association of villages. By the provisions of this announcement each village in the prefecture was to have a school officer who would be responsible for the management of the country school. An assessment for education was to be levied upon each household based on its financial status, and households without children of school age were equally liable. The assessment for each village was determined by the distance to the school. Attendance was expected from the age of about six to about thirteen and instruction was divided into three levels. The curriculum, which reflected the Civilization and Enlightenment movement, included an introduction to foreign languages as well as Western arithmetic.

In Tokushima many country schools were set up at the urging of the fief lord, with the individual villagers or associations of villagers voluntarily donating funds. A system of country schools called shoko serving respective school districts was established in Chikuma (currently the southwestern part of Nagano Prefecture) due to the powerful promotion of the prefectural governor. A school liaison officer, known as gakko sewayaku, was appointed to each village. A notable feature was its unique system of allocating financial responsibility to the people in order to cover operating expenses.

In Nagoya, the fief had reorganized the Meirindo into an elementary school whereinto commoners would also be admitted, but contrary to expectation only sons of samurai attended this school. Following the Restoration giko (similar to the gogakko) for the common people were planned by popular organizations at the urging of the prefectural government. In December, 1871, the first giko was opened under the auspices of the prefectural government. These new schools, under the regulations titled Giko Taii, emphasized practical knowledge of Western civilization in order to meet the demands of the new age and developed in the commercial center of Nagoya as a somewhat unusual country school emphasizing commercial skills for the children of merchants.

As we have seen, after the Restoration, various attempts were made to establish facilities for elementary education wherein admission would be open to all. The character and curriculum of such schools was left up to local practices. While the new types of schools such as the elementary schools and new country schools were established and soon became common in this period, most of the older forms of schools - the terakoya, private schools and the like - also continued to prosper, and in many cases exerted considerable influence upon national education. Such was the varied background against which the Education System Order developed and went into effect. A major challenge faced by the administrators of this Order was to unify the diversity of curriculums represented in the already established educational institutions.