b. Changes in Educational Policy

From 1880 the government began to base its educationa lpolicy on the Imperial Will on the Great Principles of Education. The rethinking on the part of the government is evident in the shift of the discussion on the subject of morals from the end of the elementary school curriculum as presented in the 1879 Education Order to the beginning in the 1880 Education Order. The Department of Education established the Editorial Bureau in March, 1880, and indicative of the seriousness which it came to place on moral education, it began to publish the Moral Education for Elementary Schools (Shogaku Shushinkun) edited by Nishimura Shigeki (1828-1902). This publication presented texts that could be used in the morals subject. The articles were largely based on famous adages from traditional Eastern classics illustrative of various virtues central to Confucian thought. The Department conducted a survey of the textbooks actually used in the elementary schools, middle schools and normal schools and during August and September of 1880, those volumes which were considered to be ethically inappropriate were identified and banned from further use. Among the censored books were many relating to government and popular customs as well as to popular rights.

The draft of Guidelines for the Course of Study for Elementary Schools was presented to the Throne, and amended in order to conform with the Imperial will, and then issued in May, 1881. The Guidelines stressed education's critical role in fostering the national spirit, and also emphasized the need for practical needs of life. Also in both General Guidelines for the Course of Study for Middle Schools (Chugakko Kyosoku Taiko) of July, 1881, and General Guidelines for the Course of Study for Normal Schools (Shihangakko Kyosoku Taiko) of August, 1881, special emphasis was placed on the position of morals within the curriculums. In effect morals became the most important part of the curriculums. The Department of Education issued an Ethical Guide for Elementary School Teachers in June, 1881, which reminded teachers of their crucial role in moral education and in fostering the spirit of Reverence for the Emperor and Love of the Country (Sonno Aikoku), and then in July of that year Regulations for Examining the Conduct of School Teachers were issued which also prescribed close supervision of the conduct of these instructors.

A book tilted Essentials of Primary Instruction (Yogaku Koyo) was prepared under the editorship of Motoda Nagazane between 1879 and 1882 by Imperial command. This work outlined twenty moral principles that served as a sort of catechism for exercises in loyalty and filial piety. The book was granted by the Throne to pfefectural governors present at the Imperial Palace in December, 1882. It was also sent out by the Department of the Imperia1 Househo1d to government and local public schools throughout the nation.

We see in these various policies a concerted program to promote ethical and moral education based on Confucian thought in order to establish a firm base for loyalty to the Imperial system. This program eventually culminated in the issuance of the Imperial Rescript on Education (Kyoiku ni kansuru Chokugo or Kyoiku Chokugo).

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