Local Education（地方教育論）

Background

This is a draft of a speech entitled “On the Local Education” that Neesima delivered in Hara City, Gunma Prefecture, at a time when the liberal civil rights movement was spreading nationwide, and private schools were being actively established in various regions as places to form associations and study civil rights. At the time, Tokyo was the center of government- led civilization and development, and higher education institutions were concentrated in Tokyo, with many young people coming to Tokyo with aspirations to rise to prominence. Neesima warned that superficial civilization and enlightenment, which emphasized only knowledge and lacked a new philosophy of human education, would lead to human depravity. Neesima stressed the need for sound private schools established and operated by provincial volunteer forces. According to Neesima, there is an urgent need to train citizens who will serve the private sector and advance society, not central government schools that serve the state. At the end of his “On the Local Education,” Neesima stated, “It is a shallow and insignificant argument to build up the naval and land forces” (Draft of a speech “On the Local Education,” 1882, JNE, p. 86). He recognizes that to nurture the nation’s power, it is more essential to foster education in the provinces, expand civil rights, and train independent and self-reliant citizens than to expand the military.
　The Meiji government suppressed the civil rights movement and promoted the “national wealth and military strength” policy as a national wealth and strength measure. In January 1882, Aritomo Yamagata and others issued a precept (the Imperial Rescript to Soldiers and Sailors) in the name of the Emperor describing how military personnel should be. They thoroughly educated the people gathered through the conscription system to think of themselves as the Emperor’s army. On November 24, four months after Neesima’s speech, the Meiji government issued the Imperial Edict on the Expansion of the Military Forces to local directors (prefectural governors). The difference between the Meiji government’s vision of a modern nation-state and Neesima’s vision of a modern nation-state can be vividly seen in the last 15 words of his speech.

Contemporary Significance

Neesima believed that private citizens’ establishment of universities in rural areas and the training of self-reliant citizens who would uphold civil rights were essential factors in shaping the new Japan. In Japan at that time, educational institutions of the former shogunate were re-established by the Meiji government and functioned as government schools to train bureaucrats. The situation was such that new learning could only be achieved by going to Tokyo, the country’s center. In contrast, Neesima believed that it was necessary to establish schools in the provinces by private hands and provide many young people who could not afford an education with the opportunity to learn new studies. In this way, he considered it essential for the formation of a modern nation to establish private educational institutions in rural areas to train people who would serve the people of the region through private hands. Through promoting such local education, Neesima hoped that leaders with superior wisdom and virtue who would enhance the people’s character would take the lead in contributing to the development of the local region and the progress of the new society.
　If we were to interpret Neesima’s theory of local education in a modern way, it would be possible to transmit new learning from Doshisha through online education to the many alums who work and study in rural areas or have roots in those areas.
　However, the situation surrounding private universities is now severe. The uniformity of education and research at universities is increasing, and the uniqueness of private universities is becoming increasingly rare. In addition, with the declining birthrate, the number of students taking entrance examinations is expected to decrease, many universities will disappear, and many will not be able to fill their capacities. To obtain competitive funds, many private universities are decisively implementing university reforms in line with the current trends recommended by the government. They are encouraged to conduct research in line with government policies. In a sense, the present age in which we live may be, in some ways, more invisibly reinforcing state control of education than the age in which Neesima lived. Subsidies solicited by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) and the accreditation system strongly influence university education and research. The question is now being asked about what has been discarded by education that prioritizes economic value. It is well known that Neesima has emphasized moral education based on Christianity in response to human depravity as a side effect of civilization and enlightenment. The key to Doshisha’s education should have been cultivating people with character. Many private schools have been founded with their ideals of human education, but their mission has faded away, and in many cases, their only purpose is to survive. It is necessary to rethink the nature of private education and its mission.

(Yukuji Okita)