The Education Code of 1872
One of the main reforms the new Meiji government attempted to institute was education reform. The new system the government sought to create emphasized equality, with compulsory public education that reached every citizen and gave them practical knowledge and skills to be productive citizens, deemphasizing the Confucian traditions found in pre-Meiji education.[1] This aim was encapsulated through the Fundamental Code of Education, promulgated by the Meiji government in 1872, four years after the Meiji Restoration. The document mandated compulsory education for all boys and girls after age six in a proposed system strongly influenced by the West. In addition, it divided the country into elementary school, middle school, and university districts. While highlighting the individual advantages in being educated, the document also hints at the ulterior motive of the government that an educated populace can be used to support a strong nation.
"It is only by building up his character, developing his mind, and cultivating his talents that man may make his way in the world, employ his wealth wisely, make his business prosper, and thus attain the goal of life. But man cannot build up his character, develop his mind, or cultivate his talents without education – that is the reason for the establishment of schools. Language, writing, and arithmetic, to begin with, are daily necessities in military affairs, government, agriculture, trade arts, law, politics, astronomy, and medicine; there is not, in short, a single phase of human activity which is not based on learning."[2]