Confucian Learning and Literacy in Japan’s Schools of the Edo Period

Abstract

With the political stability, economic growth and cultural revitalisation of Japan after its unification by Tokugawa Ieyasu, the educational infrastructure also grew to meet new literacy demands. Governmental schools endowed by the shogunate (Shōheikō) and by the domains (hankō), which catered to the upper military class of the samurai, focused on classical Chinese studies, particularly the Neo-Confucian canon taught in kanbun, a style of classical Chinese. Given the prestige of Neo-Confucian Chinese learning and of the kanbun writing style, these were taught also in temple schools (terakoya) and private academies (juku) that were open to the lower classes, thus contributing to the spread of this particular type of literacy. However, Chinese learning in these schools often involved memorising rather than reading, both because of educational traditions and socio-ideological factors, and also because of the sheer difficulty of reading kanbun, a de facto foreign language. The present article investigates the contrasting implications of Neo-Confucian learning and of the kanbun writing style for the development of education and literacy in Japanese society: while the prestige of Chinese learning contributed to the demand for and development of educational facilities, its complexity also acted as an obstacle to the development of widespread functional literacy.

The State of Women and Women’s Education at the Beginning of Tokugawa Shogunate (1603-1651)

“…Literacy percentages for men between 50% to 80% and women 20% (Delgado-Algarra, 2018). After Japan's unification by Tokugawa Ieyasu, political stability, economic development, and cultural revitalization encouraged the educational system to improve to meet literacy demands, literacy demands due to the prestige of Neo-Confucian Chinese learning, and temple schools and private schools were open to the lower class that contributed to the spread of literacy (Delgado-Algarra, 2018;Dore, 2011;Hmeljak Sangawa, 2017). Furthermore, most samurai were literate and very familiar with the basic Chinese classic learned in Chinese literature, philosophy, or history (Andressen, 2002;Dore, 2011;Gordon, 2013).…”

“…Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of Tokugawa Shogunate, integrated the Neo-Confucian model that separated Japanese society into four classes: warriors, farmers, artisans, and merchants (Hmeljak Sangawa, 2017). Hence, the social mobility was rigid, and the general samurai household was patriarchal (Jacob, 2014;Anderessen, 2002;Gordon, 2013).…”

“…The imposition of feudalism strengthened Confucian morality and continued the restraint for women's opportunities in Japan (Gelb, 1994). Later, Zhu Xi's Neo-Confucianism also had established the idea that men were to obtain office and concern themselves with wide social and political issues, women were to perform the household on a day-to-day basis (Sangawa, 2017;Jacob, 2014;O'Donnell, 2018;Ooms & Yonemoto, 2004).…”

“…Urban areas of education were encouraged by commerce. Thus, it was normal for women to be involved in trade activities, while in rural areas, literacy skill was needed for administrative duties exclusively for males (Hmeljak Sangawa, 2017). Female education in Japan developed quite rapidly even before the arrival of Commodore Perry in 1854, where women were highly required to obtain more practical and broader knowledge.…”

“…After Tokugawa Ieyasu, women scholars increased and were considered an exception to the rule, sometimes the daughters of Chinese learning scholars (Hmeljak Sangawa, 2017;Mehl, 2001). As samurai children were provided with intensive education and samurai women organized the educational system performing newly established public schools and private academics (Jacob, 2014).…”