School in Japan

 

足利学校 - あしかががっこう (Ashikaga gakkou) is the oldest school in Japan. Unfortunately, they don't all look this cool anymore. Or even function the way Ashikaga Gakkou did. Ashikaga gakkou was really a school for the scholarly elite priests, not exactly free and public education for all, but a good start nonetheless.

Most school buildings in use today were built in the 1950’s and 60’s following the second world war. They all pretty much follow the same set of blueprints:

If you’ve seen one school, you’ve pretty much seen them all.

In the Meiji era, Japan had some major education reforms, to start modeling their system after the (now defunct) Prussian system. This included everything from how the grades were divided to uniforms. High school boys’ high-collared ‘gakuran’ jackets with the brass buttons are modeled after Prussian military school uniforms.

Besides the public schools, there are exorbitantly priced private schools in Japan as well. Every school, private or public, must abide by the national standards set forth by the Ministry of Education.

Students go through the exact same number of years of school that students do in the U.S., the only difference lies in the division between the levels of school. There are even pre-school and kindergarten programs available in most places.

Here's a look at how schooling in the U.S. is divided up vs. Japan:

grade

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

5th

6th

7th

8th

9th

10th

11th

12th

Japan

しょうがっこう

ちゅう がっこう

こうこう

United States

Elementary school

Middle school

High school

たとえば　（ For example):
In the U.S., you might be a こうこう　いち　ねんせい
but in Japan, you would be a ちゅうがっこう　さん　ねんせい

Lastly, the names of the major divisions of school are pretty simple to remember.

小学校, shougakkou, elementary school, with the character 小 (shou) meaning “small”

中学校, chugakkou, middle school, with the character　中 (chuu) meaning “middle” or “center”

高校, koukou, high school, with the character 高 (kou) meaning “high” or “tall”

and even 大学, daigaku, university, with 大 (dai) meaning “big.”

I guess you are in the big school when you go to university ^_^

足利学校

Ashikaga Gakko is apparently the oldest school in Japan! Right here in my city! Holla! I went on Showa day, when, unfortunately, everyone and their brother felt the need to get out and about.

According to the pamphlet, present records can't really support any theories prior to the year 1410, so there is dispute as to when the school was actually founded. So here are 4 theoretical dates:
1. The Ashikaga school is a remnant of the Kokugaku school that originated in the Nara period
2. The Ashikaga school was founded in the year 832 by Lord Ono-no (tee hee what a silly name) Takamura.
3.The school was founded in 1249 by Lord Ashikaga Yoshikane (who also founded nearby Bannaji temple)
4. The school was opened in 1439 by Lord Uesugi Norizane, Deputy Shogun of Eastern Japan.

The school taught Confucianism of the Han and Tang dynasties and also the I-Ching. Next to the school, there is a Confucian Shrine (that actually looks more like a small temple, complete with a butsudan-style roof and shibi on the top roofline) with a bronze seated Confucius inside.
You can gaze out of the Hojo and have a nice think while looking at the pond & garden in the front or the smaller pool in the back. There is also a library on the grounds, that comes complete with 12,000 separate volumes, including the Song Dynasty edition of the 5 Classics of Confucianism. Talk about classics. The library isn't called 'Toshokan' though. Its name literally means "Treasury of Chinese Books."

I don't want to re-type the entire brochure onto my blog, but it really is a neat place to visit and learn a little about Chinese influence on Japanese culture. I would like to go back when there aren't so many people there!















More photos on the Facebook!