Visiting the origins of the learning and civility of the Japanese people.....

There were many kinds of educational institutions in Japan between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries. Widespread education promoted culture as well as civility and compassion towards others. Here are some trips that take you to educational institutions and treasured Japanese structures that have educated and promoted civility among the Japanese people.

Surprisingly clean townscapes and high literacy rates

It is said that foreign nationals such as diplomats and pastors who visited Japan between the mid- and late nineteenth century were all surprised at how clean the streets of Edo (present-day Tokyo) were. Edo at the time was a thriving city with a population of over one million. Records describe amazement at how literate and polite the common people were.

What lies behind this is the history of the Japanese people and the importance they place on education and civility. Various types of educational institutions were established all throughout Japan particularly during the Edo period (1603 – 1868).

Privately-owned “terakoya” educational institutions that taught reading, writing, arithmetic, and etiquette to children of all social classes spread throughout Japan, including provincial cities. It is believed that there were at least three thousand such institutions in Edo. Many kawarabans (tile block prints) and other reading materials that are the equivalent of today’s newspapers were in publication with the heightening of the literacy rate.

A terakoya temple school where children went to study (image)

The Japanese spirit of Omotenashi (hospitality) and politeness, which is valued highly abroad, still exists today throughout educational institutes and in the home. Here are four educational institutions in four cities that are open to the public and were designated in 2015 as educational assets of early modern Japan, which conveys Japanese culture and tradition through the historic appeal and characteristics of their regions. Some of these educational institutions are national treasures and even offer tours. You can further enhance your sightseeing experience by also visiting tourist spots nearby.

A notice board that conveyed information such as laws and regulations to the common people in writing

Kodokan – Japan’s largest comprehensive university in Japan where children of samurai families studied

Many domains established their own schools for educating the children of their samurai families during the Edo period. Kodokan, which was established in 1841 in Ibaraki Prefecture’s Mito City, famous for its plum trees at Kairakuen, was a representative domain school. It operated like a comprehensive university where students studied a wide variety of subjects such as Confucian studies, history, mathematics and music, while devoting themselves to military arts. The last shogun of the Edo period, Yoshinobu Tokugawa, also studied here from age five to eleven.

The main gate, which is an important cultural asset. It was opened only during formal occasions such as when the domain lord visited.

The seicho (government office) that was used when exams on the literary and martial arts were held in front of a domain lord.

The “Shizendo” resting area for domain lords to relax in as well as letting his children are under studies....