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April 2, 2012

[SSJ: 7336] DIJ Study Group, 12 April: Shimazaki Toson as Writer and Educator

From: hist.hum-studygroup
Date: 2012/04/02

We would like to invite you to our upcoming DIJ History & Humanities Study Group on THURSDAY, 12 April 2012,
18:30

Irina HOLCA (Osaka University)

Shimazaki Toson as Writer and Educator:
Double-faced or Multifaceted?

Shimazaki Toson (1872-1943), famous for revolutionizing Japanese poetry and for his autobiographical novels, is also notorious for two incidents, Moderu Jiken (1907) and Shinsei Jiken (1919), both of which revolve around the topic of literature versus morality. On the other hand, the poem Futatsu no koe from his Wakanashu collection (1897) was first included in a Japanese language textbook as early as 1902, and his works continue to be staple teaching materials to this day.
Moreover, Toson was asked to contribute stories to the Akai Tori magazine fo r children's literature, and Kikuchi Kan talked about including him in the editorial committee of an elementary school textbook. He published regularly in magazines for youngsters, and served as judge in their reader-contributi on contests.
Last but not least, he also compiled several collections of chi ldren's stories, as well as the reader Toson Tokuhon (1925). All this goes to show that Toson's work was considered to have a great educational value, and that he himself took his role as an educator very seriously, too.
In my presentation, I will follow the development of the study of Japanese l anguage as a school subject in connection with the movement for the unificat ion of the written and spoken language. I will also consider the educational doctrines that brought about the discovery of the modern Japanese literatur e as a resource of teaching materials. My main focus will be the Taisho peri od, when school education and textbooks became a place for free and direct c ommunication between school children and contemporary writers. I will analyz e this new type of relationship by looking at Toson's case, taking into con sideration both the role of his self-compiled collections, and that of the t extbooks of the time, in shaping his image as an educator.

IRINA HOLCA is an assistant professor for Osaka University, teaching English at the School of Engineering Science, while working towards her PhD in modern Japanese literature, especially the autobiographical prose of Shimazaki Toson, at the School of Letters within the same university.


The DIJ History & Humanities Study Group is a forum for young scholars and Ph.D. candidates in the field of history or the humanities organized by Kristina Iwata-Weickgenannt and Susanne Klien. All are welcome to attend, but registration (iwata@dijtokyo.org) is appreciated.

German Institute for Japanese Studies (DIJ), Jochi Kioizaka Bldg. 2F
7-1 Kioicho Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-0094, Phone:
03-3222-5077.

For a map please refer to www.dijtokyo.org

Approved by ssjmod at 11:42 AM