Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1888-10-27
toopyrixhted.1

tCopyrixhted.1
From The srAHs Travelling Commissioner
TOKYO, August 20.
at Il Intended" said an Official address 10 the
people OF Japan issued In 1872 by special order of
LIS majesty, the emperor shat hencafortb adpca
ton shall De so dinused that there may not be a
village with an ignorant family. nor a FAMILY
with an ignorant MEMBER And This ideal has
been faithfully pursued ever since But the ,teeu
has 0son hard one to climb and the history OF
the department Of education shows the constant
concentrating or rather lacking. by which the
goal mas Oeen brought nearer and nearer Boards
and departments, and Offices were created ana
abolished: codes were formulated and reneaIea .
individuals were appointed and dismissed. the
WY nanle Vi every function and the man who
nl,eI , naS CAahged half a dozen times. This
was revised In the following year." IS q Sentence
occurring on almost every page of the officisI
reeorus. Elementary education mas always been
rare thing TO find even In the lowest class man
or woman who cannot read and write, that have
10 doubt the proportion OF nliteracy Is higher in
Boston or In Birmingham than II - IN I1ky0
Mheh western aspirations came however the old
elsIlensaTy educatlon was no longer good enough
w tnest Yankees OF the Pacific, and their difficult
Ties and serpentine course have sprung from
eharactersuc attempt 70 combine Ia one system
81 america, the normal schools OF France, and the
university OF Germany. "Aim high" Is always a
Is proud of rhef a ana Today the japanese may
sra now they are likely to affect the nation pro-
fSoe W lrJ ana tell IN this letter.
THE JAPANESE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM
eShloits Two out Of the three great principles of
national instruction; 1t Is compulsory and secular
IL IS not gratuituous. II consists OF 1--WE parts,
hhdergartens elementary schools, middle schools,
sReclat schools and university.
Inc klhuersartcn Is for children between the
ages Oi three and Six There are $50 d Japan at
present. CHIEFLY In the large towns without count
schools, but TINS number viii soon be greatly IN
creased orders having been issued 10 governors OF
ei.ieS ana departments TO see that young children
attend the kindergarten and are not admitted to
e4ementary instruction at an immature age.
Inc elementary schools are oI two kinds, ordl-
nary ala higher. Attendance at the former for
thlrLy-two weeks yearly is COMPULSORY upon all
children between six ana ten, and morals reading,
writing, composition. arithmetic and gynnasti.s
Win drawing anu singing in some cases, are
tdusnt- 1ne laLSer Is an optional course OF four
years more In which instruction is added in geo.
graphy, history, physics, the English language.
agriculture and commerce. There is also a sinp-
Ter elementary course OF three years districts
" remote or 50 thinly populated that tley cannot
Dear th9 expense OF the longer course. the COM
paratiye shOrtness or the compulsory term is due
10 the fact that the country popuatiOn Is poor
one and yet owing TO the action OF foreign govern
IaentS In keeping the hands Japan tied fast for
thirty years 70 export and import tariffs OF
nomlnaly ana really . per cent, the greater
part OF japanese revenue has to be unjusty raised
Dy the taxation OF the agricultural class. Each
schOOi district must Ge provided with elenen-
tary school accommodation FOR its caildren II
there exists a satisfactory private elementary
school, or IL some philant hroDc Individual will en-
gov one wei and good; ii not. must BE- sup
ported by the school fees and any deficiency made
.p OUT oil the local rates Inc simpler elementary
SCHOOLS are supported entirely out OF the rates.
Ine number Oi elementary schools Is 2g,23s} (Of
WHICH Only .fSs are private oneSl, with BIB .1.6
puplls ana 1916 teachers, and the total eX-ndi-
ture upon lhis branch OF Instruction last census
year was {, ls6, 200 yen u Gl,.59,5UO.
THE MIDDLE SCHOOLS
are also Oh Two Classes. ordinary AMI higher. The
pupils OF the former must be twelve and have
completed The elementary preparatory course or
be prepared 10 snow its equivalent The course
covers nVe years, and includes sucn subjects Us
ethics the Japanese language. Chinese literature.
the nrst foreign language {Engilsly, the second
foreign language (hIencn CT Germany. or agricul-
TURF geOsTapnJ, history, mathematics, natural
history ~ slCs Chemistry, az. These schools
designed 10 prepare pupils either Tor practical
occupations or Tor the higher educational insti-
ISuons: Their support may lie derived from their
own funds or from local taxes. Tue number
VI these Qnciudng higher fenIIe Schoosl
Is 13. one Cat osaka belonging to the gov
elnneat, 16 10 cities aEd departments. u TO
towns and villages, and . to private individuals
with 1870 pupils and 1000 Instructors. The
total expenditure upon ordinary middle schools
was 4la,252 yen, f64, 1873 The weak point In the
MAINTENANCE OF all the foregoing schools besides
the extraordinary changes TO which they have
been subjected, is that fhey are always subiecr
10 the success or otherwise or the crops, as the
amount Of local taxation must be dependent among
apof sSrlcuiturai people, upon their yearly pros
pertty. There II only one cure for this. the accu-
mutation oi permanent scOOol funds, aud the mil
honalres % japan, OF whom there are plenty could
not exercise JheIE patriotic generosity In so good
direction as this All The foregoing Schools are 10
aCOucurIdDIc tAJtAG unueT popular control. SUBJ
lect 10 The governors OF cities anu department
whose actions again are directed and STRICTLY
prescribed % The regulations OF the department
OF edCcatlOn At TINS point, however, We enter
upon the gher educational system entirely con-
trOlleI b. the central authority.
1he higher middle school corresponds to the
academic department OF an American university
Candidates 1Or admission must Ue over seventeen
and have either Completed the ordinary middle
school course Vi snow It's equivalent, and trey
InusJ bring hIsn testimonials personal char
acter The course covers Two years and beslues
n Inc
OILERS SGca as Latin zoology, botany, geulugy
InlneTalcgy, ay naI.lcs surveying, and philosophy
are added There - now also u medical depart
menL OF each OF these schools, where an efficient
medical education is gwen, aud law, literature
ana eneiheeslns may also be aided 10 any school.
There are nye higher middle schools in japan al
TOKYO, SenGdl, OSaSa. hIuasayya, ana InllarU-
chl aId tne total COST last census year was 300 600
yen. E46 DO eCuariy divided between local taxes
anu The de partIncnt o. education
THE UNIVERSITY.
IL follows that the university is German in its
EethoCS, and, as / have said elsewhere after
japanese German Is the language talked there. 10
consists simply OF i've colleges" for special pro-
lesSlchai studies, with degree accompanying
CIRCULATION III each These are tie colleges OF itW
Hne!uains poLIcsl, OF medicine, OF engineering OF
LSeTdture, ana o. science, ana 50 technical Is all
university work here that this year there were
Only Two graduates from the college o, literature
cate OF graduation from one OF the higher TnidIie
> hoo.s or De able 10 snow It's equiv aient GA exam
nation, and the course covers four wears fnr ,nJ,
cine and three years for other subjects. SpeciaI
Students are admitted TO Institution called
tA'ersi-y HAL for two years special iuyestic-.
tlOh OF some specified subject, fOrzshlcn a deys,
- given, and there are many loan scho-
ldIsnips tOr I'm ,ecuniOUs deserving stuGeuJs Hut
SHtOcsl5 ehOt 81, although the plan Is AZ thor
Ousny Sefi4A4 as regards methods OF study ana
t1duucatlOA Tor degrees, the Discipline is more
se4Sl IMAM IN any OJner country anu the students
ae tFetted eV u more like lrespOnS bic boys than
tney are IN Il gland They must rs tide either In
~. uOfl-ltorlS or N approved Doartiing-houses
tney CAD OniF remain outside bouads until z % no
% ~ y 70, Oh The night before any holiday. they
my wear n dress but the college unlfOrm-a semi
AtaIy SUIT and cap Of grey clOtn they nav receive
no VstCss except In the room apart for the pur
pose' the may not bring Intoxicating LIQUORS into
TIE dornitories or smoke IL their bedrooms the uni
'esslty gates are shut at IL pm and any student
Iot II al that time must pTesen: an explauaIOry
letter from one OF his sureJies before 10 on the
fOiOwiDG morning; he must provide two solii
sdretles respons be for him in all matters Inyoy
l1s his connection with the university either OF
WATCH must be replaced II he Is absent from TOKYO
IOr.IL0re than four weeks.
tbs JAPANESE STUDENT,
II fact Is not man In the sense that the Anaeri-
Can or German student Is and is supposed 70 BE- or
that the English student generally is without be-
iIg supposed to b. In his work, indeed he Is a
inGn who would reject credit on any educational
Institution, but IN his experience he Is ONLY a raw
E1G.h- he knows nothing Of the world. TnrT. Is
LOiAils III Tokyo u show 10 20 MIN. except such a
~woTlc' as may be viewed tarougn an OccaslonaI
Ut Cf stolen dissipation al = tea-hOuse anu ms po-