Sources: Literature Review
The sources used for this project are diverse in classification and scope. There is a limited number of primary sources, mainly what was available on George Mason University's Children and Youth in History online archive, including the Fundamental Code of Education of 1872 and the Imperial Rescripts of 1879 and 1890. In terms of secondary sources, two broad modern Japanese histories are used: Peter Duus's Modern Japan and James McClain's Japan: A Modern History. Both of these sources have brief sections on Meiji education that include rich levels of detail relative to the amount of space devoted to the topic. More narrowed sources include Benjamin Duke's The History of Modern Japan: Constructing the National School System, 1872-1890, Joseph Pittau's Political Thought in Early Meiji Japan: 1868-1889, Michio Nagai's Tradition and Modernization in Japanese Culture, Frank Lombard's Pre-Meiji Education in Japan: A Study of Japanese Education Previous to the Restoration of 1868, Brian Platt's Burning and Building: Schooling and State Formation in Japan, 1750-1890, and Motoyama Yukihiko's Proliferating Talent: Essays on Politics, Thought, and Education in the Meiji Era, all in approximate descending order of helpfulness. These sources were chosen due to their relevance to the topic, and because online academic journal searches yielded little except Michio's book. Therefore, I turned to more mainstream book sources. The sources in general attempt to paint the picture of Meiji education reform in a defined, two-phase light. In contrast, the current research attempts to show it in a more continuous, flowing form. In particular, Michio's work focuses more on the reforms' intentions to Westernize Japan more than the flow of the reforms themselves. This research will show that because the early French-inspired Meiji reforms were seen as too radically progressive by many Japanese, there was an outbreak of both passive and active resistance, which caused the government to look elsewhere for inspiration. Eventually, it settled on the highly centralized and nationalistic Prussian educational system. This would lead the country down a road to imperialism and war, all in an interconnected, narrative pattern that could happen in any other nation as dedicated to creating a loyal populace as Japan.