The next meeting of the Japan History Group (JHG) at the Institute of Social Science (ISS), University of Tokyo, will be held on Friday, 15th November, at 6:00 PM in Conference Room No.1(Dai-Ichi Kaigishitsu) of the Institute of Social Science main Building.

Presenter: Shunichi Ikeda (Senior Lecturer, Australia National University)

Title: 'Rinji Kyoiku Kaigi (1917-19) and its impact:
social change indicators?'

Discussant: Eriko Motomori (Associate Professor, Meiji Gakuin University)

Abstract:
This presentation will look at the Rinji Kyōiku Kaigi
(1917-19) education reforms in the Tiashō period.
These were major reforms in the history of education in Japan, but their significance does not seem to have been thoroughly examined.
It is well known that education in Japan underwent two major reforms in its modern history. The first was the shift from a system in the feudal period to the system based on western education in the beginning of the Meiji period. The second was the reform that took place after World War II, based on recommendations by an American mission. This reform had the goal of changing a system long considered to be a continuation of the Meiji period system.
However, considering the various political, economic and social changes which occurred between the two well-known reforms, it is inconceivable that the system introduced at the beginning of the Meiji period could remain intact until the end of World War II. Indeed, the Rinji Kyōiku Kaigi served to expand the Meiji education system in response to these changes. After some of the proposals and suggestions in the report of this reform were implemented, a considerable number of changes took place in the 1920s and 1930s in the areas of higher education and women’s education in particular.
By using social indicators as objective sources of evidence, this presentation will evaluate some of the reports issued by the Rinji Kyōiku Kaigi and investigate whether or not they contributed to improvement of education and to the ensuing social change in the late Taishō and early Shōwa periods.

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Dr. Naofumi NAKAMURA
Professor of Business History
Institute of Social Science,
The University of Tokyo
naofumin[at]iss.u-tokyo.ac.jp